Posted on 09/01/2005 4:38:40 PM PDT by Austin Willard Wright
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
Thomas Woods and His Critics: A Review Essay Thomas E. Woods, Jr., THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO AMERICAN HISTORY. Washington: Regnery, 2004. xvi + 270 pp.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, Department of Economics, San Jose State University.[*]
Forthcoming in the JOURNAL OF LIBERTARIAN STUDIES.
Thomas E. Woods, Jr.’s, POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO AMERICAN HISTORY not only became a NEW YORK TIMES bestseller but also raised an amazing amount of furor, to a certain extent among the left leaning, who are the book’s bête noire and would be expected to take offense, but especially in conservative and libertarian circles, among the book’s presumed friends. Woods’s survey of U.S. history from the colonial period through President Clinton has been condemned so far by REASON magazine contributing editor Cathy Young, both in the BOSTON GLOBE and on the pages REASON, by John B. Kienker in the CLAREMONT REVIEW OF BOOKS, by Max Boot in the WEEKLY STANDARD, and in assorted blogs, most notably by historians Ronald Radosh and David Greenberg, and by law professors Eric Muller and Glenn Reynolds.[1]
Some of the critics have laced their denunciations with ad hominem attacks on Woods. Going beyond his book’s content, they have dredged up what they consider either guilty associations with the League of the South or unconscionable past writings in THE SOUTHERN PARTISAN. The most egregious offender is Eric Muller. Although Muller in no way qualifies as either a libertarian or conservative, his venomous assaults, descending to the low of Klan baiting, have been frequently referenced by other critics of the book.
Read the rest here.
(Excerpt) Read more at hnn.us ...
I think this guy is a Freeper.
A good book by a good man.
At least two of those he named: Cathy Young and Eric Muller -- are liberals.
Muller is currently insisting (in his blog) that society has no right to shoot looters: because they are mostly minorities they are entitled to help themselves, even at gunpoint. And he has always been one to use ad hominem attacks instead of addressing arguments.
Cathy Young is the center-left columnist that the Globe (Boston, not supermarket-counter) substituted for Jeff Jacoby to silence Jeff -- the paper's token conservative and token Israel supporter, an island in a sea of gay-lesbian-studies majors -- during the election year.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
The page cannot be displayed.
I just read it, it's an amazing little book. Goes into a lot of depth on the Bill of Rights, and the meaning of the 9th and 10th Amendments (remember those?). Flies in the face of my public school education, and points out some extremely inconvenient facts about our history (e.g. 14th Amendment never legally ratified, the utter disaster called the Great Society, etc.)
ok
The links work for me.
Hummel's review is not completely positive.
Hummel ping.
The book is a mixed bag and, unfortunately, badly mangles the two world wars. For an HNN review by a Freep lurker and occasional poster--and a licensed historian--check this link:
http://hnn.us/articles/12157.html
I agree. Hummel's review also regards the book as a mixed bag (actually it is generally negative) though he praises Woods when he is right.
Civil War ping
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