Amazon.com (ISBN 188292620X, Paperback)

When this book was first published in 1976, Ronald Reagan was a governor and Newt Gingrich a college professor. Today, it is the single best source of information on the intellectuals who built modern American conservatism. A new epilogue tries to bridge the gap of two decades, but this contemporary classic's real value lies in its thoughtful account of what happened in the 30 years following World War II. By combining history and political theory, it tells how a diverse group of thinkers that included William F. Buckley, Jr., Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek, Irving Kristol, Leo Strauss and others laid the philosophical groundwork for Reagan's presidency and Gingrich's speakership.