M. Stanton Evans: Conservative Wit, Apostle of Freedom

(Hardback)

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M. Stanton Evans (d. 2015) was one of the unsung heroes and key figures of the modern conservativemovement, offering a model to be remembered and emulated in both thought and deed. A person ofextraordinary breadth, he combined the roles of journalist, first-rank thinker, and political action, often at the center of crucial events for the conservative movement from the mid-1950s to his last decade in the 2010s. He was the principal author of the Sharon Statement, the founding document of YoungAmericans for Freedom. Evans was also a mentor to an entire generation of conservative writers andjournalists, including Ann Coulter, John Fund, Martin Morse Wooster, Tim Carney, RichardMiniter, WilliamMcGurn, and this author.

Evans was libertarian in economics and policy, traditionalist in moral and social matters, respectful ofreligion, and resolutely anti-Communist. Over the years he wrotea number ofelegant articles and onebook (The Theme is Freedom) that reconciled many of the strains that often appear between thesediffering schools of conservative thought. He also wrote a controversial defense of Joseph McCarthy(Blacklisted by History), which is one of many examples of his fearlessness in contesting theconventional wisdom.

Beyond his professional profile, Stan was also known for his ironic dry wit, which only came out inperson, as well as his personal modesty and kindliness, and fondness for fast-food, sports, and classicrock and roll music trivia. He was the conservative for the common man.

Reviews

Stan Evans was a great journalist who deserves a great biographerand now he has one in Steve Hayward, who captures the significance and humor of Stan's remarkable life in a book that is both an important contribution to the history of American conservatism as well as just plain funny.John J. Miller, director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College

Erudition, wit, high principal, and humane sympathy made Stan Evans, despite his overarching modesty, a leading light of American conservatism. They are also the qualities Steve Hayward brings to this wonderful biography. It is illuminating in detail and deft in tone. No other scholar today could have produced such an engaging account of this important life.Hugo Gurdon, Editor-In-Chief,Washington Examiner

Few people were as central to creating today's conservative movement as Stan Evans. Steven Hayward chronicles his whirlwind accomplishments in a book thats both scholarly and entertaining: Author of the Sharon Statement of conservative principles, major newspaper editor at age 25, chair of the American Conservative Union, and teaching mentor to hundreds of aspiring journalists. Stan Evans, with his famously sardonic sense of humor, would grade this book Excellent, albeit incomplete in describing just how much fun the subject of interest had.'"John Fund,National Review

Here is a biography of one of the most thoughtful, brave, and witty founders of the American conservative movement by a biographer who is his equal in all three capacities. Astounding but true.John OSullivan, editor emeritus,National Review

Author Bio

Steven F. Hayward is a resident scholar at UC Berkeleys Institute of Governmental Studies and a visiting lecturer at Berkeley Law. He was previously the Ronald Reagan Distinguished Visiting Professor at Pepperdine Universitys School of Public Policy. He is the author of six books, includingThe Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order, 19641980,The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counter-Revolution, 19801989, and Patriotism is Not Enough: Harry Jaffa, WalterBerns, and the Arguments That Redefined American Conservatism. He writes daily onPowerlineblog.com, one of the nation's most read political websites.