If you want to learn to recognize the mark of a true conservative, read Mark Levin's new book, "Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto."

Levin is the real thing -- a longtime intellectual and activist leader of the conservative movement -- who writes with unmatched authority and clarity about the conservative vision and how it ought to be pursued today by you and your children and anybody else you know who wants to preserve American liberty.

Levin is now best known as the highly and deservedly popular host of a nationally syndicated radio show. But long before he rose to prominence in broadcasting, Levin was an activist who supported Ronald Reagan for president, then served in the Reagan administration, eventually becoming chief of staff to Attorney General Ed Meese.

Since leaving public office, Levin has led the Landmark Legal Foundation and written two bestsellers: "Men in Black: How the Supreme Court Is Destroying America" and "Rescuing Sprite: A Dog Lover's Story of Joy and Anguish."

The latter is the story of how Levin and his family rescued an ailing dog from a shelter, and the deep attachment they formed with the dog during the brief life remaining to it. The former is simply the clearest explanation extant of how the Supreme Court has gone about unconstitutionally rewriting the Constitution itself.

As different as their subject matters are, both these books demonstrated Levin's ability to tell a powerful story in simple, straightforward, compelling language. Like his old boss, Levin is a great communicator.

That skill is manifest again in "Liberty and Tyranny."

Like our Founding Fathers and like other first-rate conservative thinkers, Levin recognizes that America's rise to greatness was not rooted in ideology but in a worldview defined by basic -- and true -- assumptions about the nature of the world and the nature of man.

Fundamentally, Levin explains, conservatives recognize that there is an immutable natural law ordained by God that all men and nations must obey. He also makes clear that while human beings have a God-given right to individual liberty, they are also imperfect by nature and, thus, if given too much power, are likely to abuse the God-given rights of others.