Updated: A Reading
Robert A. Hall
Economics
Basic Economics by Dr. Thomas Sowell
I learned more from this book than any other book I have
ever read--and I had economics in high school and it was covered in my college
political science classes. Sowell is not only brilliant, but writes well for
the average reader. Economics may be called the “dismal science,” but a lack of
understanding of basic economic principles by most voters and far too many politicians
is the root of much of our current trouble. Politicians often get elected by
giving voters things they want in the short term, which ruin the economy in the
long term, and the voters fail to make the connection. If you don’t understand
economics, you are not an informed voter. No one explains economics more clearly than
Dr. Sowell, whose economics books are in many languages and many classrooms.
His research and examples are strong, and his writing both entertaining and
easy to understand for the lay reader. Sowell is well-represented on this list,
because I find him both brilliant and excellent at conveying ideas. He was born
to a dirt-poor black family in North Carolina, which didn’t have hot water or
electricity, supported himself from age 17 on, and worked his way (before
affirmative action) through Harvard, Columbia and to a PhD from the University
of Chicago. He has taught at several major universities and has dozens of books
in print. His autobiography, A Personal
Odyssey is inspiring. His columns are achieved on his website: www.tsowell.com.
Applied Economics by Dr. Thomas Sowell
Also excellent, though not as
comprehensive as Basic Economics. Sowell
is an internationally-known economist, with updates from recent events in
politics and the economy. It’s written for the general public, so is easy to
read and understand, but is very helpful on understanding why things have
happened as they have—or will happen. I think you’ll find the 50 pages on the
economics of healthcare worth the price. The sections on the housing crisis,
the economics of slavery and the economics of discrimination were also quite
interesting. Sowell preaches “Stag Two” thinking, pushing readers to think
beyond the immediate to the longer term effects of political and economic
decisions
Race & Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed
on Discrimination? By Dr. Walter E. Williams
Williams is an economist at George Mason
University Philadelphia projects) to
become a nationally-known economist. This book is short, easy to read, and well
researched and documented. Williams, who is black, points out how government
policy and regulations often disadvantaged blacks far more than racial
discrimination by private individuals. His data-driven conclusions on the
subject detail how government interventions, sold as benign, have too often
disadvantaged blacks and other minorities, while protecting white racists in
unions and in the trades and professions. It also offers alternate
possibilities for what is seen as racism which are thought provoking. This
should be read by every policy maker. But those who think good intentions trump
bad outcomes will ignore it.
New Ideas From Dead Economists by Dr. Todd Buchholz
Dr. Buchholz won the Allyn Young Teaching Prize at Harvard
and holds advanced degrees in economics and law from Cambridge and Harvard. New Ideas is a review
of the ideas of the luminaries of economic thought, from Adam Smith to Ricardo
to Marx to Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman. Buchholz presents their theories
in a clear and easy to understand style, with humorous illustrations, and in a
non-judgmental way that lets the reader make up his own mind. He also presents what
their critics said, and discusses how the theories have worked out in the real
world.
Culture and Politics
]
Race and Culture: A World View. By Dr. Thomas Sowell
The challenges of race and culture that confront us are not
unique to America .
Again, Sowell’s excellent research and pertinent examples put these problems
into perspective. You will come away with a better understanding and new view
of these issues. His excellent collection of essays, Black Rednecks and White Liberals
is also a wonderful book, touching on many of these topics. The “Real History
of Slavery” essay is alone worth the price of this book.
A Conflict of
Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles by Thomas Sowell
This book is different from many
of his others in that he is not putting forth his ideas, viewpoint and opinions
here, but presenting a balanced discussion of the foundations of thought for
modern liberalism and modern conservatism. It requires a bit more intellectual
focus than the books above, but will not be hated by folks of either viewpoint.
If you want to understand why those stupid liberals/conservatives think like
they do, this is where to find out.
Life at the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes
the Underclass by Theodore Dalrymple
I can't believe this terrific book, published in 2001, and
written mostly as a series of essays between back to 1995, has just come to my
attention. But everything I read suggests that not only is this still the
situation throughout Britain ,
the US
and Western Civilization, but has grown worse, not better since he wrote. It
was written by Dr. Anthony Daniels under the penname Theodore Dalrymple,
probably to protect his hospital, patients and career. From 1990 to 2005, he
worked as a doctor and psychiatrist in a prison and a public hospital in a slum
in Birmingham , England Britain
and the west is doomed to collapse, chaos and barbarism. I believe we are
losing civilization. He makes the point that in the US, racists often attribute
the pathologies of the black underclass--non-marital births, drugs, violence,
domestic violence, serial relationships, crime and a cultural disdain for
education that destroys the hopes of those who might escape from the situation
through self improvement--to race. but in Britain, the underclass with the same
pathologies are overwhelmingly white, native-born British people, most of whom
cannot tell you when the Second World War took place, or multiply 7X8. (US
racists need not be smug anyway--both the Hispanic and white underclass here
are catching up, and have enough pathology to ruin the country if every black
person suddenly adopted middle class values and work ethics.) In fact.
immigrant kids from India
in Daniel's city usually do better in school and life. But there is a growing
underclass among immigrants, abetted by authorities who are afraid to intervene
for fear of being charged with racism, or, if they are minorities themselves,
of being Uncle Tom's aiding the white oppressor. He details the sickening story
of a little girl tortured to death whose case was pushed off by social workers
and doctors who viewed her situation as part of her equally-valid culture. In
another case, he recommended a suicidal young immigrant be put in a psychiatric
hospital. His family would have none of it, and accused Daniels of racism,
threatening to hold a disruptive demonstration in his hospital. Two weeks later
the boy hanged himself. This book is not to be missed.
Excerpt: Despite the subtitle, this is a book about class,
not race. The author is looking at a lot of data that suggested the upper class
that runs the country, which he calls the Narrow Elite and the Broad Elite, is
increasingly wealthy, increasingly takes in both liberals and conservatives
with high IQs and is increasingly isolated from the experience of the rest of
America. He focuses on whites because that Narrow Elite is overwhelmingly
white. He also focuses on the white lower class, so the comparison will not be
between a white upper class and a minority lower class. He looks at a lot of
data suggesting the white lower class is being destroyed by several trends: decreasing
industriousness and ability to hold jobs among males, decreasing participation
in civic organizations or churches, decreasing marriage rates, decreasing rates
of trust and neighborliness, and sharply escalating non-marital birth rates,
all trends that suggest the destruction of both happiness for these folks and
what he calls the "American Project."
Steyn is a very entertaining and
funny writer, though this is a most serious subject. It deals with demographics
and the dangerous fact that for most of the western world, including Japan and Canada , the native birth rate has
fallen well below the replacement rate of 2.1 lives births per woman. Unless
this can be reversed, which seems unlikely, the cultures of Europe
and the west are likely to collapse within 30 years. It also means the western
social welfare state cannot be sustained, and that Europe
will increasingly be Islamicized and in fiscal turmoil. America ’s birthrate is right at
2.1, thanks mostly to Hispanics and some sub-cultures like the Mormons. Since
economic progress and liberty has depended on western civilization, the implications
for future generations are scary.
A follow up to America
Alone. Similar to my book, The Coming
Collapse of the American Republic, but longer, with more details, and
written with Steyn’s quirky humor.
This short collection—I read it in under two days—has
several excellent essays each worth the price of the book. The book is described as examining, “the
intellectual and spiritual traditions of our belief in individual liberty, from
its Judeo Chris tian origins on
through Enlightenment philosophy.” I found several of the essays, such as one
on the little-known aspects of the history of the women’s rights movement,
worth the price of the book. (Not that I liked every essay in it.) Valuable to
understanding the foundations of our Republic.
It’s short, clear and very readable. It has excellent, short
explanations of the causes of the Great Depression, the current economic
meltdown and much else, such as federalism, the Free Market, and the origins
and economic challenges of the Welfare State. Put it on the top of your “must
read” pile.
I've ordered copies of this book to give as gifts; it has
over 2,000 5-star reviews on Amazon. Dr. Carson, a brilliant neurosurgeon, has
long been prominent in the medical world. Recently he burst into the political
world when he was invited to speak at the National Prayer Breakfast. He refused
to let Obama's handlers read (and presumably censor) his speech in advance. His
criticism of Obamacare made him an instant darling of conservatives, and calls
for "Carson
for President" began to be heard. But Carson is, or was as of the writing of this
book, a long-time independent, and he condemns the behavior of both parties. He
is clearly a fiscal conservative who believes in limited government and
self-reliance. But his views on many social issues such as immigration,
healthcare, racism and the safety net might take some of the shine off his
luster for social conservatives.
The Road to Serfdom by F. A. Hayek
We are back to economics and
philosophy with this classic. I’ll let you skip it if you wish, as it is a hard
read, needing a lot of focus, not at all like Sowell. Hayek was writing in Britain in the 1940s, having been driven from
his native Austria
by the Nazis. He warned the west that tyranny can happen anywhere. Hayek saw
little to choose between the National Socialism of Hitler and the International
Socialism of Stalin. This is the economic and philosophical case for freedom
and for individual as opposed to state economic decision making. For Hayek, the
Road to Serfdom is the growth of government.
The United States
Really. If you haven’t read it, or not lately, do so. Let me know if you find the phrase
“Separation of Church and State.” Also, note that promoting the general welfare
is not a power granted to the government. It is the reason the
enumerated powers, and no others, were granted to the federal
government. I recently picked up, The
American Constitution, For and Against: The Federalist and Anti-Federalist
Papers and it’s in the reading mountain. (Oh, BTW, the phrase “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of
Happiness” isn’t in the constitution either, despite that constitutional
scholar Barack Obama saying it was in his State of the Union address. Doesn’t
the teleprompter have a proofreader?)
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are
Divided by Politics and Religion. By Jonathan Haidt
I suppose the best compliment is that throughout this
insightful and well-written book, I kept wishing the author was present so I
could discuss, and often argue points with him. (And I suppose he was glad to
be far away.) To be fair, many of the points I wanted to argue he addressed and
resolved further on. Haidt is a self-described left-wing academic and atheist,
though of Jewish heritage. He is a Kerry and Obama supporter, a bias he is very
open about and references throughout this work. But he is also an
intellectually honest man and—so rare on today’s campuses—open to diversity of
thought, the only kind of diversity that really matters. A “Moral
Psychologist,” Haidt makes a very solid academic research effort to understand
the moral foundations of both conservative and liberal political thought, as
well as why religion is important in human societies. The book held my interest
throughout, and will be of great value to thinkers on both the right and the
left of our political divide, who will gain understanding of why they hold the
views they do, and why others hold different views. Shouters and haters, not so
much. Read through the reviews on Amazon. This book is well worth your time.
Reckless
Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic
Armageddon by Gretchen Morgenson
and Joshua Rosner
Did you or someone in your family lose your job in the 2008
economic collapse? Was your retirement gutted? Is your mortgage underwater or
your house foreclosed? This book by NYT reporters names the names. If you want
to blame Jim Johnson, Frank Raines and Fannie Mae, here’s the evidence in
spades. If you want to blame subprime mortgage lenders like Angelo Mozilo and
Countrywide, who played fast and loose with the economy while giving sweetheart
loans to politicians, here’s the evidence, in spades. If you want to blame Wall
Street corruption and greed, here’s the evidence, in spades. If you want to
blame politicians of both parties who aided the pirates, here’s the evidence.
If you want to blame weak and captive regulators, here’s the evidence. If you
want to blame the Fed, here’s the evidence. If you want to blame local mortgage
brokers and dishonest buyers colluding to create millions of toxic liar-loan
mortgages that were sold to mostly-unsuspecting investors, here’s the evidence.
If you want to blame Standard and Poor, Moody’s and Fitch for giving solid
investment ratings to toxic bundled sub-prime mortgage securities to keep their
fees flowing, here’s the evidence.
Kindle Edition:
Eric Holder, America ’s
first black attorney general, famously said the United States was “a nation of
cowards” on matters of race, because most people won’t talk openly about racial
matters. (Perhaps “Eric Withholder” would be a better name, as he continues to
stonewall Congress over releasing documents about his department’s “Fast and
Furious” program which killed hundreds of Mexicans and two US Agents.) To
refute Holder, comes now the brave Colin Flaherty, with this book about black
on white violence in America .
Do not expect his reward to be a medal for bravery from the DOJ for discussing
these matters. So far, his reward has been to be vilified as a racist, the
usual fate of anyone who candidly discusses race without agreeing 100% with the
progressive meme on race. I fear he is likely to suffer worse, from IRS audits
to violence.
Ameritopia: The Unmaking of America
With Liberty and Tyranny,
Mark Levin established himself as a major current political thinker, able to
convey complicated concepts in clear, concise language. Therefore, I was
looking forward to finding the time to read Ameritopia.
It did not disappoint, and should be required reading for anyone to serve in
public office, not in place of, but in addition to Liberty and Tyranny. Levin reviews utopian
political thought, from Plato to Marx, and contrasts it with the political
thought of Locke, Montesquieu and de Tocqueville, which are so foundational to
our limited government
Republic University
of Massachusetts America
has become a society in which the people are wise enough to select their own
leaders, but too incompetent to choose the right lightbulb." Indeed.
Gross National Happiness: Why Happiness
Matters for America
Excerpt: I heard the author speak at a conference a few
years ago, was very impressed, and bought the book. But I proceeded to let it
get buried in the reading pile under history, economic and political books.
Thankfully, I finally read it—it’s a terrific book. Brooks is an economist and
academic, and this book is data driven by population surveys, both in the US and
around the world. He draws conclusions from the data, which you may not like.
People wedded to a viewpoint that cannot be moved by data, left or right, are
likely to hate it. There are many surprises here. Brooks looks at the data on
what makes people happy or unhappy: religion, political views, marriage, jobs,
incomes, charitable involvement, and so on, across demographic groups. This
should be read especially by policy makers who might do well to understand what
is likely to preserve and increase national happiness. My own take, which I put
on my Old Jarhead Blog, has always been, “With all due respect to Tom Jefferson,
‘pursuing happiness’ doesn’t work. But if you commit yourself to things you
care about more than yourself, such as family, job, non-profit cause, church or
temple, community, or service to your country, happiness will find you.”
Nothing here changed my mind on that point, though the data surprised me in
some areas as they did Brooks. Arthur C.
Brooks is Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at
Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Dismantling America
Though I have read many of these essays and columns before,
you will find more common sense about what is wrong with our politics and
culture in this book than in all of Washington ,
DC
The Challenge of Militant Islam
This is the
pro-Islam view by an Iranian religious scholar. In my view, several of the
important questions were glossed over, and being Iranian, he leans a tad toward
the Shia side of the Sunni-Shia struggle in Islam, but it’s a good, non-inflammatory
understanding of how moderate Muslims view their religion. Since the challenge
of militant political Islam isn’t going away, you had better understand this
religion. (BTW, Islam means “submission” not “peace” as is often claimed.)
This is the
other side, as Spencer is an out-spoken critic of political Islam and the
belief that it is basically a “religion
of peace.” If you read this and No god
but God, you’ll be pretty well grounded in the arguments. Spencer also
wrote The Complete
Infidel's Guide to the Koran, The Truth About Muhammad:
Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion and other books
that are well researched, which would get his head cut off in any of a number
of countries. The Sword of the Prophet by Serge Trifkovic and A Concise History of the Crusades by Thomas F. Madden are also worth reading. It also helps if you
know that Islam attacked Europe well before
the much-maligned Crusades. See Tours , Battle
Mohammad & Charlemagne Revisited: The History of a Controversy
by Emmet Scott.
Having read and recommended Bryan Ward-Perkins The Fall of Rome, I was most interested
to read this book, which takes aim on Ward-Perkins. While I recommend both,
this controversial update of Henri Pirenne’s theory that it was the rise of
Islam that destroyed classical civilization in Europe
is in my view the most important and on the mark. I confess that there were
tedious bits for the non-academic at the start, but stay with them, as they are
a necessary foundation to the riveting final four chapters, the conclusion and
the epilogue, which are must-reads for those who want to understand today’s
world and the millennium-old clash between western civilization and Islam.
Basically, Scott lays out a solid case that it was the closure of Mediterranean
trade route by Muslim raiders, and the destruction of the lowland, coastal
agricultural system that supported advanced economies, as the peoples in the
south of Europe had to retreat to defended hill top towns to escapes the
attentions of Islamic slave raiders that provided the death knell for classical
civilization. Some telling quotes from the book, which bring to mind our
present world: “Aside from the aristocrats themselves, there were armies of
bureaucrats and courtiers surrounding the (Roman) Emperor, huge numbers of
soldiers, and a vast number of unemployed plebeians, who had to be supported by
a social security system, which the Roman’s named the “dole.” … With the
decline of the city as a political power, the great majority of this population
would naturally have disappeared. (PP. 80-81). (Be carefully what you wish for,
OWS!) “Under the protective shield of Rome, the farmers, artisans, and
intellectuals…had grown to despise the calling of the soldier, and to see the
defense of the country as someone else’s business. … The civilian populations
of Anatolia, of Syria , of Egypt , and of North Africa
were vast, but they were completely unused to war. After the defeats of the
Imperial forces (by the Muslims), there existed no tradition of military
training or activity which could have facilitated independent local action
against the invaders.” (P. 172. “Islam is virtually unique among world
religions in that its primary scriptures advocate the use of military force and
its early expansion—indeed its expansion during the first six or seven
centuries of its existence—invariably involved military conquest and the use of
force.” (P.185) “…there was continual and almost uninterrupted war between
Muslims and (European) Christians since the first attack on Sicily
in 652 and Constantinople in 674. In the great
majority of these wars, the Muslims were the aggressors. … it is estimated that
between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries alone (Muslim pirates) captured
and enslaved in excess of a million Europeans.” (P. 187) This book will broaden
your understanding of the ancient world, the foundations of our civilization,
and the on-going clash with Islam. I rate it a “must read.”
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Ali suffered genital mutilation as a child, was sent to an
arranged marriage, escaped to Holland ,
became a citizen and a member of parliament. She risked her life to make a
movie exposing Muslim mistreatment of women; the producer, Theo van Gogh was
murdered on the street by a Muslim for the movie. Of course, this made her
anathema to the left, who think that not paying for birth control for yuppie college
students is a "War on Women," but excuse murder, oppression, stoning
and other barbarous treatment of women by Muslims because "all cultures
are equally valid." Ali is a real feminist. This is inspiring.
Sowing the Wind: The Seeds of Conflict in the Middle
East . By John Keay.
I’ve recommended this before, but given what is going on
there, if you and Obama and Clinton haven’t read it, now might be a good time.
A broad look at an area we will be engaged with for a long time. This is an
excellent one-volume history of the Middle East, from 1890 through the Suez crisis in 1956, with
an epilog to bring us up to date. The catalog of crime and invasion,
contention, execution and insurrection, siege and betrayal of Hashemite vs.
Wahhabi, Sunni vs. Shia vs. Kurd vs. Turk, Allies vs. Ottomans, Britain vs.
France, Zionists vs. Muslims, and other groups great and small would give a
tourist pause, never mind a diplomat or soldier.
Islamic Imperialism
http://www.amazon.com/Islamic-Imperialism-History-Efraim-Karsh/dp/0300122632/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1307163076&sr=1-1
Excerpt: I wish I could buy
a copy for every member of Congress, the President and the Secretary of
State--and get them to read it. Required reading for an understanding of this
aspect of the challenges facing us.
Islamic Imperialism is well written and well researched. It starts with the
advent of Islamic conquests of other peoples and brings it forward to the
struggles in our current day. It also reveals how many "Islamic"
leaders used Islam as a handy rallying point and cover for their personal
ambitions. We must find an answer to the Islamist threat if we are to survive. Israel and Europe may be lost, and America is in
the balance.
History
A Question of Command: Counterinsurgency from the Civil War to Iraq
An excellent history of the type
of wars we are likely to be involved in for a long time. A Harvard and
Cambridge-trained historian, Dr. Moyar reviews what worked and what didn’t, who
were good leaders and who failed the test of insurgency warfare. This will help
you judge how we are doing in places like Afghanistan , and what the chances
of success are. A review of this book I wrote was published in Leatherneck Magazine.
A Patriot’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and
Michael Allen
I found this book when looking for a one-volume US
history to recommend as part of my “Reading List for the Educated Voter.”
(Linked below) At 830 pages, this book takes a time investment, but is well
worth it, if you haven’t reviewed US History since college. Or never. It’s a
good book to buy for you high school and college students—if you can get them
to read it! I have a Masters in History and read history for pleasure, so I
picked up many small details I consider to be errors in fact, which hopefully
will be corrected in future editions. But they didn’t impact the broad
conclusions. The authors are academic historians, and do not gloss over the bad
patches, such as slavery and the treatment of the indigenous population (what
we used to call “Indians” before PC took hold.) On the other hand, the book was
free of the Marxist cant and genuflections to leftist chimeras so prevalent on
campus today. They do an excellent job of achieving balance, for example,
criticizing FDR for depression-extending economic policies while praising his
wartime leadership and diplomacy. Certainly the last chapter on the Bush
presidency and the War on Terror will be disputed by the left, but it brings
balance to the narrative they push in a sycophantic media. The book is well
written and clear, not difficult to understand, which is a benefit. You can
read the mixed reviews on Amazon for more details—you’ll be able to discern the
world views of the writers!
The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts
and the Battle
This is a wonderfully-written book that will make you look
at a lot of issues in a new light. It is about the intersection of geography
with history, geopolitics, national interests and power. Though I have a
master’s degree in history and am well read in the field, I also learned a great
deal about non-European history. Particularly China ,
India and the Middle East , though of course in one book it could only
take a broad brush approach to these things. Unfortunately, Kaplan gave me
several new worries about the future, and I was already pretty pessimistic.
This is a high level review of geo-strategy, and should be read by policy
makers at all levels. It requires some focus; certainly not light
entertainment. The most interesting section was the last. Kaplan argues that Mexico , with a long border with the US , is far more important to us than Iraq , Afghanistan
and the Middle East . Given that Mexico and Central America have a rapidly
developing population—now at 50% of the United
States —and a native US
birthrate below the replacement level, he argues that we cannot afford to have Mexico
become a failed narco-state on our border. Everyone involved in the current
immigration debate would do well to read this and look at the big picture view
he presents.
Coolidge
by Amity Shlaes
This long, but well-written book has a wealth of historical
detail from the first thirty years of the last century, for the US in general and Massachusetts in particular. When I was in
the Massachusetts Senate, the painting of Coolidge, a former Senate President,
hung in the chamber. Until the leadership remodeled the place and, probably
uncomfortable under his stern gaze, moved him to the Senate reading room.
Imagine a President who cut the budget, reduced the size of the Federal
Government, cut the national debt from a major war by one-third, reduced the
size of the military, cleaned up scandals from his predecessor, was of
unquestioned integrity, who stood on principle even when it hurt him
politically, who decided not to seek reelection when he was a sure winner
because he believed in limited service, who foresaw the crash of 1929 and
thought that Hoover’s policies (expanded and made worse by Roosevelt) would
make it far more severe and long lasting, and who met with his budget director
frequently to see if they could cut a few thousand dollars more in waste. Then
imagine a president now both smart enough and open minded enough to read this
book and benefit from it. It will be argued those were simpler times, but the
challenges were as daunting, as this book makes clear. The men and women were
different, with a different view of the role of government versus individual
freedom and responsibility. It can be argued that Coolidge, not Reagan, was the
last conservative Republican president. (Grover Cleveland was the last conservative Democrat
president.) I highly recommend this fine historical biography.
Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson
A wonderful book you should add to your reading pile. Ferguson is a Scots
historian now at Harvard. This is a terrifically researched exploration of why
a few petty squabbling states in Europe ,
against all odds, came to dominate the world. The author has a great ability to
pull the illuminating fact or pertinent quote from the morass of history. He
also explores why South America, which was by far the richer set of colonies,
is now far poorer than North America . (Hint:
widespread property ownership and property rights.) Fergusson says Western
Civilization had six “killer apps” that led them to dominate the world:
competition, science, property rights, medicine, the consumer society and the
work ethic. He makes a solid case that these six factors not only led to
western dominance, but the high standard of living in western society, pursued
today by the rest of the world. Some of the bits were worth the price of the
book. Martin Luther’s defense of publishing the Koran in order that Christians
could see “how entirely cursed, abominable and desperate a book it is.” John
Locke’s attempt to ban lawyers in Carolina .
The author proclaiming the US Constitution “the most impressive piece of
political institution building in all of history.” His note that Tocqueville
identified the essential difference between the American and French
revolutions, a preference for liberty in ours and equality in theirs (a warning
to us today). His insight that the threat to the west comes not from radical
Islam, “but from our own lack of understanding of, and faith in, our own
cultural heritage.” He points out that Asians now work far more hours than
Americans, and we more than Europeans. That
the Chinese Communists party had a report “specifying three requirements for
sustainable economic growth: property rights as a foundation, the law as a
safeguard and morality as a support” is telling. And Ferguson’s comment that,
“mass immigration is not necessarily the solvent of a civilization, if the
migrants embrace, and are encouraged to embrace, the values of the civilization
to which they are moving” should inform our immigration debate. And this: “”It
is important to remember that most cases of civilizational collapse are
associated with fiscal crisis as well as wars. All of the examples discussed
above were preceded by sharp imbalances between revenues and expenditures, as
well as by difficulties with financing public debt.” Are you listening, Washington ? (No, alas.) Ferguson asks if we can
maintain western civilization and western dominance. That’s an open question. I
read the hard copy, but my wife listened to it on disk in the car. Ferguson reads the book
himself, but adds in wonderful accents on the quotes. Do yourself a favor and
read this book.
The War of the World by Niall Ferguson
I discovered Ferguson ,
a Scots historian now at Harvard, when a friend introduced me to his last book,
Civilization: The West and the Rest, which I previously recommended.
That led me to search out other works by him, and I expect to read more after
this one. Ferguson
is a fine writer with the ability to capture the essential quote or detail to
illuminate his point. He was going to write a WWII book, but decided that had
been done. Instead, he looked at the violence of the 20th century, not only
wars, but genocide, pogroms and man-made famines like Stalin's that killed
millions to bring ethnic areas like the Ukraine to heel, viewing it as one
long, world-wide war. It is hard to say I liked this book, because it is hard
to like such an extensive catalog of man's inhumanity, but I appreciated
the way he drew the themes together, discussing the causes of the violence in
the bloodiest century in history. It remains to be seen if our current century
will be better, but certainly a thorough understanding on what happened in the
last one is necessary if there is to be a change. This book is a great place to
start.
Science
Kicking the Sacred Cow by James P. Hogan
Is about controversies and suppression of evidence in
science, which I have just re-read and think is a “must read.” I doubt all the
heretics and suppressed claims are true, but find it very interesting that in
supposedly “fact based” science, too often scientists who don’t agree with the
current orthodoxy are vilified, attacked and suppressed. Climategate wasn’t the
only “gate” in science.
Understanding the Vietnam War
A while back, a friend, too young for that conflict, asked
me for a reading list on Vietnam .
Here it is.
Triumph Forsaken:
The Vietnam War, 1954-1965 by Mark Moyar (A second volume is reportedly in the
works.)
A Better War: The Unexamined Victories and
Final Tragedy of America 's
Last Years in Vietnam
Strength & Honor by Terry L. Garlock
Noble Warrior: The Life and Times of Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston,
USMC. Autobiography
Never Without Heroes by Lawrence
C. Vetter
Body Count by William Huggett (Excellent
Novel, but out of print)
*****
Robert A. Hall is a
Marine Vietnam veteran who
served five terms in the Massachusetts
State Senate immediately after
graduating from the University
of Massachusetts
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