The present day conservative intellectual movement began in 1953 with Russell Kirk’s groundbreaking book The Conservative Brain. Four years later, he published a pithy, wry, philosophical overview of what conservatism actually means. Originally entitled The Intelligent Woman’s Guidebook to Conservatism, this small publication was essentially a popular version of The Conservative Mind.

Now, a hundred years following its author’s birth, this neglected gem has been recovered. It remains what Kirk designed it to become: an accessible introduction to conservative ideas, especially for the young. With a new name and an intro by the eminent intellectual historian Wilfred M. McClay, Russell Kirk’s Concise Guide to Conservatism will come with uncanny timing. The motion that Kirk defined in 1953 is today so contested and fragmented that no one seems in a position to say with confidence what conservatism means.

This book, as fresh and prophetic as the day it had been published sixty years ago, is a reminder that no-one can match Russell Kirk in engaging people’s minds and imaginations-an indispensable task in reviving our civilization.