Books: Politics

Win Bigly: Persuasion in a World Where Facts Don’t Matter by Scott Adams (Penguin, 2017) is a tribute to Donald Trump. It is also a tribute to Scott Adams. The author of Dilbert has been popular online for decades; and he had tens of thousands of readers when, back on August 13, 2015, he began predicting Donald Trump’s victory. Througho... (See the whole review)

This is a thoughtful, thought-provoking set of aphorisms and reflections.  As much as I enjoyed it – and believe that I benefited from reading it three times – I have to ask if the author would have written it had Hillary Clinton been elected president. ... (See the whole review)

Plans to start new communities, and even entire new nations, are iconic to the libertarians who were impassioned by Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.  Rand's "Utopia of Greed", hidden in the Colorado Rockies, only echoed a long tradition in American history, beginning with America itself.  The City on a Hill, the City of God, drew the leaders of a million... (See the whole review)

William W. Beach's back-cover comment (taken from Amazon): ... (See the whole review)

Haven't yet picked up the book, but was impressed by radio interviews of Shapiro.

Bought this yesterday, finished it last night. Was drawn to it because of the interest by my 24 year old son. IMO, one of the most wildly effective political books aimed at modern youth ever. And, this is great, fantastic news for Ayn Rand fans. It's crystal clear depiction of heroic individuals in the face of an oppressive to... (See the whole review)

"Dennis Hastert ... had a 104-acre farm in Shipman, Illinois, worth between $50,000 and $100,000. His other assets amounted to no more than $170,000. He remained at a similar level until he became Speaker of the House. (1) But by the time he set down the Speaker's gavel, he was substantially better off than when he entered office, with a reported n... (See the whole review)

I just bought this book and will report on it here after I get some time to read it ...

Finally, a housing crisis book that really names names!

I heard the author, Star Parker, interviewed on Sean Hannity today. She literally blew me away. I am recommending this book before even reading it because of how impressed, how in awe, I already am of her. She was so poignant, so prescient. I know of only one other woman -- a prominent mid-20th Century novelist/philosopher who will go unnam... (See the whole review)

This small book is simply fantastic and fun to read. It also contains some interesting observations.

Has anyone read this?  To judge from comments, it looks like another case of a conservative coming around to Rand, like Limbaugh or Amity Shlaes.

I just bought this book and am already impressed. Lomborg is a utilitarian, but he shows -- more than any other author has -- just how harmful global warming legislation (e.g., Cap & Trade) is for human beings living on Earth.

Book Description ... (See the whole review)

I heard about this book here.[[/A> Has anyone read it? ... (See the whole review)

Long overdue, this is an important book, giving the authoritative studies, history, anthropology, cultural which have upheld a contention I have had for many years - namely that teenagers are young adults, NOT children, and that this artificial extention of childhood is a consequence of Deweyism and unionism which sought to remove the young from co... (See the whole review)

Haven't read it yet, apparently it takes a negative tone. But, as I've story-told about, private-party retaliation is still the final solution to world terror. ... (See the whole review)

I just finished reading this classic text and highly recommend all parents and adolescents read it as well.  It offers a thorough examination and critique of formal education and substantial reasons to pursue an informal education.  Loaded with references and resources, it belongs on the shelf of every person who loves individual liberty.  Its cent... (See the whole review)

Please follow this link to Hitchens' article in Slate. No, this is not a book review, but I saw no better way to list both the image and the link. (See the whole review)

John Agresto has written a cogent and quotable pro-freedom and pro-Western yet unmerciful critique of the overthrow of Saddam and the failure of the allies to set up a stable state in the aftermath of his regime. Agresto argues that our failure is primarily due to the fact that we have forgotten ourselves how our own democracy was created, ... (See the whole review)

This was an interesting read.  For a number of years in the late 1970's, Reagan had a radio show where have gave what appears to be about a 5 minute speech.  He wrote most of them, and this book is full of them.  Each one shows the text, including edits.  It has a few copies of the originals as well. ... (See the whole review)

I have started this thread for comments on Dinesh D'Souza in general, not to be limited to the thread title. I have read D'Souza's Letters to a Young Conservative and his End of Racism. I found both lacking The Letters to a Young... series is of broad interest. I have read both Christopher Hitchens' ...Contrarian and Anna Deavere Sm... (See the whole review)

Basement Nukes the Consequences of Cheap Weapons of Mass Destruction by Strauss, Edwin S.  ... (See the whole review)

http://www.larryelder.com/larrysbooks.html I highly recommend this book by libertarian author, Larry Elder. He has courage and confronts racists of all colors.   (See the whole review)

This book is a cross between Dr. Seuss and Ayn's Rand's Atlas Shrugged. http://www.oakleafpublishing.biz/images/book1_2.bmp (See the whole review)

Do you hate ze French?  C'est logique!  ... (See the whole review)

A good introduction to Straussian thought by one of it's most famous teachers. This book gives a run down of the current state of culture and the university from Bloom's perspective. From his view of books, love, relationships, music and creativity. He than goes on to comment on German philosophy and how it has shaped American thought and politics ... (See the whole review)

Since discussions about marriage arise in this and other freethought forums I lurk, I performed a Google search and stumbled across this little gem recently. http://www.NoMarriage.com I bought and read the e-book. The author shows little kindness to American women, calling them spoiled and worse. He argues, justifiably, that a man sho... (See the whole review)

Noam Chomsky is the greatest enemy that the United States has ever known, and this book compiles the evidence and presents the argument that can finally nail his slippery hide to the wall.

To my knowledge, I am the first SOLOist to change my mind about the war in Iraq. My unease with my anti-war position had been going on for some time and a discussion with SOLOist Joe Rowlands when he last visited New Zealand was crucial. But I have to say, this book was what really did it. If you thought Lindsay Perigo hated Saddam and the anti-war... (See the whole review)

You can now view this book online at no charge at http://www.newbostonbooks.com/Look%20Inside.htm if you desire. ... (See the whole review)

Best-selling author and former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski offers a bold new global vision for extending American preeminence in the 21st Century. . As the twentieth century draws to a close, the United States has emerged as the worlds only superpower: no other nation possesses comparable military and economic power or has interes... (See the whole review)

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills three thousand years of the history of power in to forty-eight well explicated laws. As attention--grabbing in its design as it is in its content, this bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Ca... (See the whole review)

In this book the author blows the lid off the bizarre alliance between the liberal Left and radical Islam.   (from book description)   In this tour de force on the most important issue of our time, David Horowitz confronts the paradox of how so many Americans, including the leadership of the Democratic Party, could turn against the War ... (See the whole review)

Conservatives aren't born--they evolve. And for Wall Street Journal ethics columnist Harry Stein--once vilified in The Village Voice as "a well-known asshole"--that evolution began with the birth of his daughter. ... (See the whole review)

The plot outlined in this lurid exposé is a frightening one: Osama bin Laden has nuclear weapons—lots of them—and is preparing to use them to create "an American Hiroshima." Williams, a journalist, former FBI consultant and author of The Vatican Exposed: Money, Murder and the Mafia, contends that bin Laden has purchased of dozens low-yield ... (See the whole review)

... (See the whole review)

Fareed Zakaria's book The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad explains how capitalism has consistently preceded enduring, constitutionally limited democracies.  The author employs the famous ancient Greek story of Odysseus and the Sirens to illustrate the need to bind the masses to the rule of constitutional limits of governme... (See the whole review)

            Among books written systematically and engagingly, with an immense depth of notes and research to accompany them, few of our time can rank alongside Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s Democracy: The God that Failed. Hoppe, a professor of economics at the University of Nevada and senior fellow with the Ludwig von Mises institute, is an anarcho-capital... (See the whole review)

This book lists a number of factual errors in the works of Michael Moore from the beginning of his career up to but not including his 9-11 movie. It shows his lack of integrity as a documentarian and dangerously creative skill as a propagandist. Moore commands a frightening but small portion of society with his populist propaganda, so it is no wond... (See the whole review)

Vilfredo Pareto (1848-1923) was an Italian sociologist, who, in his 1901 treatise, The Rise and Fall of Elites, foretold the ascent of socialism as a ruling doctrine in the decades to come. Pareto, to his credit, does not even remotely consider socialism capable of achieving the existential and moral utopia that its advocates espoused. Moreover, he... (See the whole review)

Critics have attacked the foolishness of some of today’s elite thought from many angles, but few have examined the real-world consequences of those ideas. In The Burden of Bad Ideas, Heather Mac Donald reports on their disastrous effects throughout our society. At a Brooklyn high school, students perfect their graffiti skills for academic credit. A... (See the whole review)

Some observers see the global political landscape as a complex amalgam of divergent worldviews, shades of gray that usually move in harmony but sometimes collide with violent results. David Frum and Richard Perle, authors of An End to Evil think it's a great deal simpler than that: the United States is good, those who pose a threat, current or futu... (See the whole review)

Despite popular belief, American boys tag behind girls in reading and writing ability, and they are less likely to go to college. Our young men are greatly at risk, yet the best-known studies and experts insist that it's girls who are in need of our attention. The highly publicized "girl crisis" has led to many changes in American schools, politics... (See the whole review)

Farrell debunks the myth of male power. He dares to question the image of male-as-oppressor, arguing that this misconception has hindered not only men, but women as well. (See the whole review)

Though a tiny bit outdated being published in 2002, Statecraft takes the reader through what Thatcher considers all of the world's most pressing foreign policy issues. Her examinations are broad and insights interesting and applicable to more than just any specific issue. Statecraft reads like a combination history, prophecy, and memoir, because ... (See the whole review)

Marvellous teleological defence of individual rights. Smith is an Objectivist (ARI) although she comes over as more generally Aristotelian here.

Also by: Neil Vidmar and Hans Zeisel ... (See the whole review)

Jefferson's theory and practice have often been seen as inconsistent or contradictory. Mayer attempts to show that much of Jefferson's views and actions are consistent with a contextual view of the Constitution. The contextual view, as explained in this book, provides an interesting way of understanding the purpose and structure of the Constitution... (See the whole review)