Read to Lead
Conservatives believe in learning from the experience of others and one great way to advance your understanding of conservatism and leadership is through our "read to lead" program available through our book store.
There are literally thousands of titles available and all books come with free postage. You can search our entire range by using the search field below.
We have also featured a range of recommended reading to help get you started.
Every purchase helps the CLF provide more training and more action plans to develop Australia's future leaders.
Titles available through the CLF:
Understanding Personal and Economic Liberty - Ronald Kitching
Within these pages the reader will find inspiration to play a meaningful role in what is the ongoing battle between the individual and the omnipotent state. The book presents a comprehensive background as to how we inherited the personal and economic liberty we enjoy today, a liberty that is rapidly being lost. In Understanding Personal and Economic Liberty, Australian Ronald Kitching provides basic information for those interested in their future and that of their children, grandchildren and of the country. Here are the guidelines to prosperity and how to defend and preserve the essential freedoms to maintain this.
Confrontational Politics - H. L. Richardson
To confront and defeat the effort of the political left to change the American system of government into one resembling the socialist welfare states of the rest of the world, Richardson spells out for political conservatives the strategies and tactics to practice politics of confrontation - as it is also conducted by their opponents. Filled with many practical examples from Richardson's own successful efforts in California, the book is instructive, often entertaining and of immense value to the many 21st century conservatives from around the world now girding for battle with the often radical initiatives of leftist governments as well as organised and militant union campaigns. Richardson's key point about his opponents is that they usually practice the politics of deception in order to advance programs that the vast majority of people would never support if they knew what the outcomes would be. He outlines many different approaches to confront these programs through political organising of like-minded people and organisations into activist coalitions.
No Left Turn - More Thoughts of a Conservative - Cory Bernardi
No Left Turn - More Thoughts of a Conservative is the second volume of the thoughts, opinions and views of South Australian Senator Cory Bernardi. Through his weekly comments, Bernardi has carved a niche as one of Australia’s leading conservative voices who attaches a healthy dose of common sense to a strong philosophical framework. His columns have sparked national debate on a number of important social, cultural and economic issues. While many have sought to portray his conservative views as controversial, the passage of time often reveals a prescient understanding of the hopes and concerns of mainstream Australia.
As I See It - Thoughts of a Conservative - Cory Bernardi
As I See It - Thoughts of a Conservative is a compilation of Cory's comments, ideas and opinion pieces that cover the major events of 2008 and 2009. The book provides a conservative narrative across a multitude of contemporary issues including climate change, the global financial crisis, men's health, leadership, society and the future of Australia. As I See It also includes a previously unpublished epilogue that gives an insight into some of the events leading to Tony Abbott becoming Federal Leader of the Liberal Party.
Recommended reading from the book store:
Letters to a Young Conservative - Dinesh D'Souza Click here to order
Drawing on his own colourful experiences, both within the conservative world and while skirmishing with the left, Dinesh D'Souza aims to enlighten and inspire young conservatives and give them weapons for the intellectual battles that they face in high school, college, and everyday life. Letters to a Young Conservative also illuminates the enduring themes that for D'Souza anchor the conservative position: not "family values" or patriotism, but a philosophy based on natural rights and a belief in universal moral truths.
A History of Conservative Politics Since 1830 - John Charmley Click here to order
An updated and revised edition of a lively account of British Conservativism, illuminated throughout by a concentration upon the men, and woman, who have led the Conservative party.This book is written by a big name author with trade acumen and a lively and engaging writing style. It offers detailed history and analysis from 1830 to the present day, including a new chapter on David Cameron's leadership. It provides revisionist accounts of Peel, Disraeli and Churchill. Charmley examines the history of the party and takes the story through the recent 'wilderness years' following the 1997 election fiasco, right up to David Cameron's leadership.
The Conscience of a Conservative - Barry Goldwater Click here to order
In 1960, Barry Goldwater set forth his brief manifesto in The Conscience of a Conservative. Written at the height of the Cold War and in the wake of America's greatest experiment with big government, the New Deal, Goldwater's message was not only remarkable, but radical. He argued for the value and importance of conservative principles - freedom, foremost among them - in contemporary political life. Using the principles he espoused in this concise but powerful book, Goldwater fundamentally altered the political landscape of his day - and ours.
Lazarus Rising - John Howard Click here to order
John Winston Howard is one of Australia's most successful prime ministers, leading the Liberal Party to victory over four elections and becoming the second-longest-serving PM in the nation's history. Howard is the face of the modern Liberal Party, an economic radical and social conservative whose ideology has united many Australians and divided just as many others. But what people often forget is that long before he became Prime Minister, John Howard was an idealistic politician. This book looks back over 30 years in politics, and at the changes Howard has seen both inside and outside the Government during that time. From his modest beginnings, to his steep ascent in Liberal Party ranks, and subsequent time in the wilderness during the Coalition's opposition years, to a victory almost no one had predicted, and on to some of the most tumultuous years in Australia's recent past, this is history seen through the eyes of the ultimate insider. Here, Howard tells how he responded on issues vital to Australia, such as gun control, East Timor and the relationship with Indonesia, the aftermath of 9/11, and the rising tide of asylum-seekers. Lazarus Rising takes us through the life and motivations of John Howard, and through the forces which have changed and shaped both him and the country he led for 11 years.
Conservative Thinkers: The Key Contributors to the Political Thought of the Modern Conservative Party - Mark Garnett & Kevin Hickson Click here to order
This book outlines and evaluates the political thought of the Conservative Party through a detailed examination of its principal thinkers from Harold Macmillan to the present. Traditionally, the Conservative Party has been regarded as a vote-gathering machine rather than a vehicle for ideas. This book redresses the balance through a series of biographical essays examining the thought of those who have contributed most to the development of ideas within the party. The chapters benefit from archival research and interviews with leading Conservatives. The recent revival of Conservative fortunes makes the book particularly timely. The book begins with an introductory chapter explaining the role of ideology in the Conservative Party. It then traces the political thought of the Conservative Party through its principal theorists since the 1930s. The book will be of considerable interest to academics and non-academics alike; for those who have a special interest in the Conservative Party but also for any student of contemporary British Politics.
The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot - Russell Kirk Click here to order
The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk is arguably one of the greatest contributions to twentieth-century American Conservatism. Brilliant in every respect, from its conception to its choice of significant figures representing the history of intellectual conservatism, The Conservative Mind by Russell Kirk launched the modern American Conservative Movement.
The Conservative's Handbook - Phil Valentine Click here to order
If, as some have said, conservatives are ruled by facts and liberals by emotions, one would be hard-put to find a better illustration of the aphorism than popular radio talk-show host Phil Valentine's The Conservative's Handbook: Defining the Right Positions on Issues from A to Z. Initially his A-to-Z issues were developed as a primer to be posted on his Web site to bring his audience up to speed with today's events. When they proved so popular and informative with his audience, he realized he had struck a responsive chord, that the realities he had outlined spoke to a great number of people. The Conservative's Handbook provides a conservative viewpoint on a wide range of ideas. In doing so, it covers the hot issues of today as well as perennial topics of interest. The knowledge he imparts is more than just information. It's ammunition for conservatives when they are caught up in discussions with friends and arguments with those on the Left.
Why I Turned Right - Mary Eberstadt Click here to order
In Why I Turned Right, eminent and rising conservatives -- at odds themselves on a number of issues from religion, family, sex, to stem cell research, abortion, and war -- discuss how America has gradually moved to the right. And they answer it not through polemic, reactionary preaching, or rage, but in the most practical and sensible way possible: via the sharp, critical, and unfiltered voices and canny observations of uniquely positioned authors, editors, humorists, and political refugees inadvertently born of the sexual revolution and the PC movement, who ultimately landed on the conservative side of America's red-blue divide -- in some cases, much to their own surprise. A fascinating intellectual journey, this "family of opinions," as contributor Peter Berkowitz terms it, represents the extraordinarily varied paths that have led these authors from the championed liberalism of their youth to eventually fuel the world of conservative think tanks, magazines, blogs, and book publishing.
The Conservative Ascendancy: How the GOP Right Made Political History - Donald T. Critchlow Click here to order
Despite significant losses in the 2006 midterm elections, the Republican Right remains a powerful and defining force in American politics. Donald Critchlow, a leading historian of American conservatism, shows that time and again the GOP Right appeared defeated, only to rebound with explosive force. The ascendancy of the GOP Right was not preordained, nor was its political triumph inevitable. Rather, the history of the post-war Right was one of fierce political warfare as moderate Republicans battled right-wing Republicans for control of their party, and conservatives battled liberals for control of government. In the struggle against the dominant New Deal state, conservatives gained control of the Republican party, but their advance against liberalism and the Democratic party proved less steady. At each point the accident of historical circumstance precluded a predictable outcome. In this provocative history of the Right in modern America, Critchlow finds a deep dilemma inherent in how conservative Republicans expressed their anti-statist ideology in an age of mass democracy and Cold War hostilities.
