Conservatives come in many varieties, bearing labels like neocon, libertarian, communitarian, social conservative, and fiscal conservative. They take great pleasure in writing books that denounce liberals, but they also occasionally level their swords at each other. Despite their diversity of thought, or perhaps because of it, conservatives share a common love for logical discussion and debate. It is this love that spurs conservative readers to grapple with books they might not entirely agree with. A slew of conservative titles have hit the bookstores in the past several decades, but how do you wade through them to choose the most insightful or influential? Start with these six titles—books essential for any modern conservative’s library.

America's Right Turn: How Conservatives Used New and Alternative Media to Take Power

by Richard A. Viguerie & David Franke (Published 2004, ISBN 1-56625-252-0)

This book, though written from a conservative perspective, is more moderate in tone than most conservative political books. It may be of interest to liberals as well as to conservatives because it chronicles both the left's and the right's use of alternative media, including direct mail, the radio, the internet, and cable television. For someone of my generation, it is difficult to recall a time when the major networks and newspapers had a monopoly over the news, and this book reminded me that sources of information were not always as diverse as they are now.

America's Right Turn is a political history and not a political diatribe. It offers intriguing insights into the reasons for the rise of alternative media, as well as for the reasons why conservatives have generally made better use of these alternatives than have liberals. Here you will learn interesting factoids, such as the interesting statistic that self-identified conservatives consume far more news (both mainstream/liberal and conservative/alternative) than do self-identified liberals. The book also makes the reader aware of how much the government is capable of stifling conservative expression--how it did so in the past, how it is doing so now with campaign finance reform (which also affects liberal expression), and how it may seek to do so in the future.