THE NEW AGE--BOOK REVIEW--JANUARY 1990--BRGOLDW.JAN


Goldwater, by Barry M. Goldwater, with Jack Casserly, Doubleday, 
414 pages, $21.95.


     This is the last will and testament of the man who made 
conservatism a respectable term in this Country.  He may not have 
been the most intellectual man to ever run for President, but he 
was probably the most principled and candid man to date.  From 
his first days in the United States Senate he was beyond the 
narrow partisanship which dominates so much of political life.  
In retirement his memoirs provide a nostalgic view of a 
celebrated career, a compelling account of an event-filled life 
and a first-hand account of American politics in the 20th 
century.  Goldwater offers a new and unique perspective to a 
period that most readers remember vividly.
     Despite the fact that Senator Goldwater has had triple 
by-pass heart surgery, two artificial hips, and an artificial 
knee, the years have not dulled his wit, his spirit or his 
ability for plain talk.  His observations on public figures and 
events will not please devout members of either party but will 
delight those who have come to know and respect this grandson of 
Jewish pioneers, this world-renowned ham radio operator, this 
accomplished photographer, pilot and practical joke prankster.
     Senator Goldwater finally agreed to be a candidate for 
President to further the conservative philosophy.  He knew from 
the start he would lose, but he was looking to see a different 
kind of victory, and he has lived long enough to see it with the 
Reagan revolution of the 1980's.  It is interesting to speculate 
what might have happened in a Goldwater-Kennedy race.  Given the 
great wave of sympathy felt by the Nation mourning its fallen 
leader, it is easy to forget that Kennedy had been elected by the 
narrowest of margins in 1960 and that his popularity had sagged 
greatly, which was one of the reasons for his trip to Dallas.  
Goldwater had a cadre of enthusiastic followers and he might just 
have won.
     Instead, Goldwater was subjected to the most brutal assault 
ever in a Presidential campaign.  The news media repeatedly 
falsified his position, and he was vilified by his liberal 
opponents.  The history of the 1964 presidential campaign should 
be required reading for anyone who thinks 1988 reached some new 
low.
     Yet, despite the slander and innuendo, Goldwater emerged as 
a revered elder statesman while the reputations of those who 
attacked him have steadily declined.  Thus, the book in the final 
analysis is a tribute to the Senator himself who states in 
closing:  "Freedom has been the watchword of my political life.  
I believe in faith, hope and charity.  But none of these is 
possible without freedom."  Truly, the readers of Goldwater will 
conclude, "In your heart you know he's right!"
                              F.Thomas Starkweather, 33


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