This essay collection uses Barry Goldwater as a lens through which to examine aspects of US postwar politics of particular concern to conservatives. Goldwater is best known as the Republican presidential candidate in 1964 who lost by a landslide, and was a conservative hero and liberal villain of the era.

The book consists of ten chapters by nine different authors and these chapters are grouped into three parts, with an afterword added by a tenth author. The first part focusses on Arizona with chapters on Goldwater and the Colorado river, business mobilization and the rise of the Arizona Goldwater Republican Party in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and Republicans’ mixed relationships with Hispanics in Arizona from the 1950s. The second part focusses on the 1964 campaign with chapters on Republican Party factionalism in the 1950s, conservative media in the 1950s and 1960s, and Goldwater's appeal to southerners and the growing numbers of conservative Republican women particularly in the context of his “moral” appeal. The third section deals with the post-1964 legacy and Arizona's conservatives, including their role in “pro-business” conservatism nationally, with references to Justices Rehnquist and O'Connor, Goldwater's complicated relationship with environmentalism, and a comparison of Goldwater with another controversial right-wing Republican, Senator Jesse Helms. An afterword also looks at Goldwater's historic reputation.

Despite the diversity of subjects and authors, some common themes emerge. These include the extent to which promotion of business and liberty to trade was central to the conservative project. Another is how much fear of and attempts to restrict the power of organized labour were central to the conservative project, with the 1950s representing a key moment of conservative victory, particularly in the nascent sunbelt. Another major theme is conservatives’ complicated relationship with environmentalism, where a love of nature was entangled with both a desire to exploit and a pervasive fear of federal and governmental power. There is also an examination of Goldwater's ambivalent relationship with the religious right.

Overall this is a strong work which is a powerful addition to the literature on American conservatism. Most essays are related to books by the same authors that explore the themes in greater detail, but there is room to make important points and combined they allow one to judge the Goldwater phenomenon more richly.

This is not to say the collection is perfect. However, its imperfections are mostly the result of the fact that it illustrates promising avenues for further research. It would be interesting to get a deeper assessment of conservative ideology. For example, one of the most interesting ideas in the collection is in Andrew Needham's essay on the Colorado river, in which he suggests that Goldwater's conception of the role of government was less anti-New Deal than pre-New Deal; indeed more on how conservatives resolved the tensions in their views of state powers would generally be helpful. So would a closer examination of constitutional issues. Shermer implies that the federalist jurisprudence of Justices Rehnquist and O'Connor (both Arizona conservatives) is inconsistent with the restrictions they placed (or restored) on state regulation of commerce. However, federalism by definition restricts the states, and the New Deal had extended their power to regulate commerce across state lines, so it is to be expected that a constitutional restorationist ideology would oppose this. Business is essentially seen here as an unambiguously conservative force and the very powerful corporate interests which have been frequently associated with left-leaning expansions of the state are not so much downplayed as ignored. It would also be interesting to read more on “Arizona exceptionalism”: why did Arizona more than any other western state pioneer “sunbelt conservatism”?

This reviewer, like Professor Link a “Helms specialist,” is particularly interested in the well-informed and well-argued chapter by the latter that compares Helms and Goldwater. This is in large measure a matter of judgement, but I would emphasize more the closeness of Helms's and Goldwater's perspectives on most issues. This is particularly striking given such sharp differences in personality and background between Goldwater, the profane anti-segregationist, athletic playboy heir to a fortune, and Helms, the reserved, proudly southern, and prudish son of a policeman. For the reviewer, this reinforces rather than weakens the power of conservative movement ideas and institutions in shaping politicians’ perspectives and behaviour.

All in all, this is a useful work of reference for the specialist in the politics of the late twentieth century which adds to the literature and offers avenues for the future.