Conservatives in the United States frequently celebrate the Reagan revolution in the 1980s. Yet, as Lee Edwards shows in this definitive biography, Reagan might never have made it to the White House if Barry Goldwater had not won the Republican nomination for president in 1964. Goldwater lost to President Johnson by a wide margin that year, but he fundamentally reshaped the GOP in the process. The scrappy Arizona senator is best known for his raw, Western-style conservatism that featured strong libertarian leanings and a devil-may-care wit. When he retired after serving six terms, Washington, D.C., suddenly became a less interesting place. Edwards writes as a sympathizer, but also offers a nuanced understanding of the man who famously declared, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.... Moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!" --John J. Miller
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