Conscience of a liberal: selected writings and speeches

This book records more than the words of the author-it records his part in the shaping of a national conscience and the setting of national goals. For nearly two decades Chester Bowles, in and out of office, at home and abroad, has tirelessly articulated the challenge of our times. He was among the first to perceive the shape of the postwar world; more than a decade ago he began asking the questions that now engage our policy-making councils.

Defying neat classification in "foreign" or "domestic" categories, today's chal lenges range widely from economic growth and full employment to racial harmony, from arms control to the quest for peace -yet it is increasingly clear how tightly they are interlocked.

The issues dealt with here, in selections from the writings and speeches of Mr. Bowles, lie at the heart of today's great decisions. One simple, single theme runs throughout-strong, clear and persuasive. We are living, he says, in an utterly new world shaped by revolutionary forces and ideas; a world in which old systems and concepts of power are antiquated and in creasingly irrelevant; a world whose in habitants are looking for more than steel.