Barry Goldwater is widely regarded as one of the most prominent and controversial politicians of our century, a man whose influence on America conservatism led President Ronald Reagan to honor him with the title "Mr. Conservative" when he retired after thirty years in the Senate. A populist from Arizona, Goldwater helped change the Republican Party both ideologically and geographically and planted the seeds of the New Right.

Goldberg describes Goldwater's youth, family, and early business enterprises, showing how he both shaped and was shaped by the increasingly sophisticated American Southwest.

He tells us about Goldwater's political career and its aftermath, giving insight into his opposition to the senatorial censure of Joseph McCarthy; his 1964 presidential campaign; his role in such political turning points as Watergate and Reagan policy in Nicaragua; his life-long interest in the military, which culminated in the passage of the Goldwater Military Reorganization Act during his last year in the Senate; and his attack on the religious right in the Republican Party.