The Wisdom of Conservatism

By Peter Witonski

Book Overview

Nice set of RED books. Perfect backdrop books. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: B000H43HFE
• Release Date: January 1981
• Publisher: Institute for Western Values

Customer Reviews

Brilliant four-volume anthology of conservative thought

~The Wisdom of Conservatism~ is a sweeping four-volume anthology of conservative thought through the ages first published by Arlington House in 1970s. I have an old, but pristine hardbound set with the slipcase, and I have to admit, besides Russell Kirk's books, it is the crown jewel of my conservative book collection. The author balances out the book with conservatives from various camps. Conservative luminaries throughout the ages receive a showing in this anthology from Reactionaries to Monarchists to Roman Catholic Counterrevolutionaries to Anti-Modernists to English Whigs to Agrarians to High Federalists to Southern Republicans. Witonski is not inclusive in eschewing classic liberals, since their influence on mainstream modern conservatives is profound, so he features economists Adam Smith and Ludwig von Mises for example. Though, I found the inclusion of Nietzsche among several others to be rather questionable in an anthology dealing with conservatism. Whatever faults may be found in the text selections of this volume can be forgiven because of the breadth and scope of the anthology. I confess to never reading it cover to cover as it several thousand pages, but the value of this set as a reference for any student of conservatism is insurmountable.