The movement called neoconservatism has provided the intellectual foundation for the resurgence of American conservatism in our time. And if neoconservatism can be said to have a father or an architect, that person is Irving Kristol. Schooled in radical socialism in the 1930s, Mr. Kristol grew disillusioned with the Left and rose to become an ideological foe of the Soviet Union, an active editor and publisher, and a prolific writer in his own right. He helped move a generation of intellectuals to the conservative cause. Neoconservatism is the most comprehensive selection of Mr. Kristol's influential writings on politics and economics, as well as the best of his now-famous essays on society, religion, culture, literature, education, and--above all--the "values" issues that have come to define the neoconservative critique of contemporary life. Composed over almost fifty years, these writings offer some of the most lucid, insightful, entertaining, and intellectually challenging essays of our time.

Irving Kristol is a senior fellow at AEI.