[Paradox]

Look at the conservative authors I read in my teens and twenties: Russell Kirk, Wilmoore Kendall, Leo Strauss, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich Hayek.

Who's filling their shoes today?? Maybe Thomas Sowell ...

You are absolutely right. In the last 8 years or so, I have purchased two "conservative" books. And while interesting, and certainly agreeable, they were at no where NEAR the level of erudition I had expected. Light weights..

[KC Burke]

Another author and recent book (beyond every work of Sowell) that rises to the level of past great conservative writers is Jonah Goldberg's Liberal Fascism.

I was expecting a light weight effort as all I had read was his NRO commentary. What a great surprise to find that it was a work of solid scholarship, arguement and great detail.

Gertrude Himmelfarb is also still creating works of real merit. The periodical Modern Age besides being a source of scholarly articles does reviews of most works of conservative worth. Three books on Russell Kirk and his views were reviewed in the last issue.

Freeper LS has a new book out that I have just started about the 48 biggest liberal lies in history commonly being taught or accepted.

[KC Burke]

Besides Thomas Sowell, we can include the following authors:
Shelby Steele
Walter Williams
Jonah Goldberg
Andrew Napolitano
Mark Levin
Kenneth Minoque
James Kalb
Robert Bork
Richard Brookheiser
George Cary
Dinesh D’Souza
John P. East (recently deceased)
M. Stanton Evans
Gary L. Gregg II
Peter Lawler
Harvey C. Mansfield
Wilfred McClay
Forrest McDonald (recently retired but get everything he wrote or does write)
George H. Nash
George A. Panichas
Peter J. Stanlis
Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
John Zmirak

isi.org is a good place to start