Book excerpt: Robert Welch was the founder of the John Birch Society, a conservative advocacy group supporting anti-communism and limited government. This book is a transcript of Robert Welch’s two-day presentation of the background, methods and purposes of the John Birch Society, as given at the founding meeting in Indianapolis on December 8-9, 1958. The book became a cornerstone of the Society’s beliefs, with each new member receiving a copy. This Fifth Edition include two previous Forewords and a Postscript from earlier editions (1959 and 1961), as well as a new Postscript dated March 15, 1961.