Books contain the ideas, make the arguments, and preserve the history necessary for the maintenance and perpetuation of liberty. Reading the Right Books is a practical list of thoughtful and accessible books — not the “classics” but solidly good books — recommended to provide a general framework around which the reader can build a firmer structure of political knowledge. Edited and annotated by Lee Edwards, the Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought at The Heritage Foundation, Reading the Right Books is a guide for intelligent, conservative-minded readers who want to prepare themselves for a public life of thought and action, and so seek to know more about politics, public policy and modern conservative thought, as well as literature, economics, religion, history, and statesmanship.
Conservative thought
The Road To Serfdom – F. A. Hayek – 1944
The Conservative Mind: From Burke To Santayana – Russell Kirk – 1955
Neoconservatism: The Autobiography Of An Idea – Irving Kristol – 1995
The Conservative Intellectual Movement In America Since 1945 – George Nash – 1976
The March Of Freedom: Modern Classics In Conservative Thought – Edwin Feulner 2003
Liberty And Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto – Mark Levine – 2009
We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future – Matthew Spalding – 2009
Economics
Economics In One Lesson: The Shortest And Surest Way To Understand Basic Economics – Henry Hazelit – 1946
Liberalism: A Socio-Economic Exposition – Ludwig von Mises- 1978
Capitalism And Freedom – Milton Friedman – 1962
A Humane Economy: The Social Framework Of The Free Market – William Roepke – 1960
Wealth And Poverty – George Gilder – 1981
The Mystery Of Capital: Why Capitalism Trounced In The West And Fails Everywhere Else – Hernando DeSoto – 2000
The Spirit Of Democratic Capitalism – Michael Novak – 1982
Statesmanship
George Washington: The Indispensable Man – James Thomas Flexner – 1974
Churchill: A Life – Martin Gilbert 1991
Religion
Mere Christianity – CS Lewis – 1943
The Naked Public Squire: Religion And Democracy In America – Richard John Neuhaus – 1984
American history
The Roots Of American Order – Russell Kirk – 1974
Novus Ordo Seclorum: The Intellectual Origins Of The Constitution – Forrest McDonald – 1985
Totalitarianism
Communism: A History – Richard pipes – 2001
The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich: A History Of Nazi Germany – William Shirer – 1960
The God That Failed – Andre Gade, Richard Wright, Ignacio C Loney, Stephen Spender, Arthur Kessler, Louis Fisher – 1950
The Great Terror: Stalin’s Purge Of The Thirties – Robert Conquest – 1968
The Black Book Of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression, – Steven Courtois et al. – 1999
World History
Dynamics of world history – Christopher Dawson – 2002
The Roads To Modernity: The British, French, And American Enlightenments, – Gertrude Himmelfarb – 2004
From Dawn To Decadence: 500 Years Of Western Cultural Life, 1500 To The Present – Jacques Barzun – 2000
Civilization On Trial – Arnold Toynbee – 1948
World Politics
The Cold War: The New History, – John Lewis Gaddis – 205
Of Paradise And Power: America And Europe In The New World Order – Robert Kagan – 2003
The Clash Of Civilizations And The Remaking Of World Order – Samuel Huntington -1996
Liberty’s Best Hope: American Leadership For The 21st Century – Kim Holmes – 2008
Public policy
Losing Ground: American Social Policy 1950 – 1980 – Charles Murray – 1984
The Dream And The Nightmare: The 60s Legacy To The Underclass – Myron Magnet – 1993
The Tragedy Of American Compassion –– Marvin Olasky – 1992
Political culture
The Closing Of The American Mind – Alan Bloom – 1987
Illiberal Education: The Politics Of Race And Sex On Campus – Denish D’Souza – 1991
This list is not comprehensive as there are great numbers of wonderful books on history, biography, economics, government, political philosophy, national defense, sociology, etc. In sociology, misleading, inaccurate and propaganda dominated books greatly outnumber the valuable ones. All of the books by Charles Murray are terrific. Several give excellent insights into important sociological issues.
A far more comprehensive and sophisticated website covering books on political thought is the Online Library of The Liberty Fund – oll.libertyfund.org. It is an excellent resource.