Probably the Only Canadian Student Essay Written about Barry Goldwater in the Past 30 Years.

Essay by superclownCollege, UndergraduateA, October 2004

download word file, 5 pages 4.4

BOOK REPORT

Barry Goldwater: Extremist of the Right.

Many might say that the 1960's were a decade of extremism, whether it was the Vietnam war or the Civil Rights movement, there was always something going on, which resulted in vastly different opinions from the American public. In 1964, smack dab in the middle of America's most radical decade, Barry Goldwater, emerged as leader of the Republican party, a man who has now been forgotten by time, but laid the groundwork for many radical right wingers ahead of him. Goldwater believed in low taxes, limited government control and the power of the free-market. In a decade divided by extremes of opinion, Goldwater was a man who was only interested in gaining support of one segment of the population, those who believed in the principals of the radical right, he preached none of his views in moderation, knowing exactly who he wanted to impress.

It might come as no surprise that Mr. Goldwater had his critics, plenty of them. One such critic was Fred J. Cook, a predominant New York journalist who wrote "Barry Goldwater: Extremist to the right" in 1964, the same year Barry Goldwater was up for the presidency of the United States of America. Fred J. Cook's book hasn't dated terribly well, but it remains an effective reminder of the dangers of right wing extremism, and the questionable connections many of leaders use for there own benefit.

As his book begins, Fred J. Cook tells the story of Goldwater's youth growing up in one of Phoenix's most wealthy families. Goldwater was a good looking and athletic young man who had a knack for making friends and a love of America's wilderness. In 1937, Goldwater inherited his father's Department store and quickly made it...