Posted on 12/11/2007 7:19:47 PM PST by jazusamo
December 12, 2007
Books are good gifts to receive and even better gifts to give because you can get books without half the hassles involved in buying many other kinds of gifts. You can easily buy books from the Internet and avoid the mob scenes at the shopping malls.
This has been a good year for books that shoot down false and nonsensical notions on major issues of our time.
"The Immigration Solution" is an excellent new book that discusses illegal immigration without the political rhetoric, spin, demagoguery, and unsubstantiated claims that have become all too common in the media and among politicians.
It was written by three scholars at leading think tanks -- Heather Mac Donald and Steve Malanga of the Manhattan Institute and Victor Davis Hanson of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Unlike many other scholars, they know how to write so that the general public can understand what they are saying.
"Mugged by Reality" by John Agresto is an eyewitness account of life inside Iraq by someone who does not take either the Bush administration line or the Congressional Democrats' line. Nor does he hesitate to admit that what he saw in Iraq changed the opinions with which he first entered the country.
It is a sobering and insightful account of what has happened and of the problems with various alternative courses of action. It is one of those books that adds a new dimension to your understanding, whether you agree or disagree with the author.
"The Prince of Darkness" by Robert Novak is a big book detailing half a century of his experiences in Washington, dealing with both political figures and other members of the print and broadcast media. He names names.
This book should be especially valuable to those young people who have been brainwashed with the notion that it is somehow nobler to be in "public service" than in the private sector.
For those who like history, there is a new history of one of the most decisive decades in American history -- the decade of the Great Depression of the 1930s -- titled "The Forgotten Man" by Amity Shlaes.
It tells a revealing story of the people and the policies that shaped that decade, as that decade has shaped much of what has happened with government intervention in the economy ever since then.
For those who want more in-depth analysis of the economic consequences of New Deal policies, Jim Powell's book "FDR's Folly" would make an excellent supplement to Amity Shlaes' book.
"Until Proven Innocent" by Stuart Taylor and K.C. Johnson is an account of the Duke University "rape" case that goes far beyond the misdeeds of the disgraced District Attorney Michael Nifong.
"Until Proven Innocent" turns over a lot of rocks and shows what was crawling underneath -- in the media and in academia, as well as in law enforcement, that produced a lynch mob atmosphere in which evidence meant nothing.
Because Duke University is by no means unique in the attitudes of its faculty and administration, what happened at Duke could happen at any number of prestigious universities around the country. It is something to think about for those who have their hearts set on getting into Prestige U.
An excellent present for those parents and students who want to find academic institutions that have not succumbed to the ideological corruption found at Duke and other colleges and universities would be the book "Choosing the Right College."
The latest edition, just published, is over a thousand pages long and goes into the campus atmosphere at numerous colleges and universities, in addition to dealing with academic questions, such as the presence or absence of a curriculum.
A very moving account of the life of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas can be found in his very readable and insightful memoir, "My Grandfather's Son," which has been on the best-seller list for eight weeks thus far.
In these politically correct times, we are only supposed to say "happy holidays," lest we offend someone by being politically incorrect, but I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
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Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305. His Web site is www.tsowell.com.
Thanks Mr. Sowell - grandaughter goes off to college in 2 years...
Excellent synopsis. Not only a great economist and thinker but also an outstanding book critic!
We’re in the same boat, that’ll make a nice gift. :-)
I’ll have to check the library database to see if they have these.
Yes he is, he does a book review column every so often.
I've been wanting to do a "Are you buying books for Christmas/holiday?" anyway.
Freepmail me to get on or off the list.
Dr. Sowell for many years has been a Lion for the intellectual belief, and pursuit, of Conservatism. Long may he flourish.
Excellent! Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for the ping.
Yes, it will.
Thanks for the ping, and a Merrrrry CHRISTmas to all!
Forgot to add Novak's book - probably too late now for my kid to get free shipping on it from Amazon - have to buy it myself after Christmas......
Thanks for the ping. Will save and read later.
Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy is a great read.
You asked for it! Here is my wish list from Amazon. It’s quite eclectic.
True Beauty
~ Mandisa
Avg customer review: 4.6 out of 5 stars 36 (36)
In Stock
Price: $12.97
Add to Cart
Facial Expressions: A Visual Reference for Artists
by Mark Simon (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.0 out of 5 stars 36 (36)
In Stock
Price: $14.93
Add to Cart
42 used & new from $12.70
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 2nd edition
by Edward R. Tufte (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.5 out of 5 stars 78 (78)
In Stock
Price: $27.44
Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America’s Enemies
by M. Stanton Evans (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.7 out of 5 stars 35 (35)
In Stock
Price: $19.77
Back To Jerusalem
by Paul Hattaway (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.6 out of 5 stars 18 (18)
In Stock
Price: $9.59
Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power
by David Aikman (Author)
Avg customer review: 3.9 out of 5 stars 18 (18)
In Stock
Price: $11.53
The Lost Christmas Eve
~ Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Avg customer review: 4.2 out of 5 stars 126 (126)
In Stock
Price: $8.99
Christmas Eve and Other Stories
~ Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Avg customer review: 4.6 out of 5 stars 213 (213)
In Stock
Price: $8.49
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost Of Christmas Eve
DVD ~ Ossie Davis
Avg customer review: 4.7 out of 5 stars 92 (92)
In Stock
Price: $10.97
Beethoven’s Last Night
~ Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Avg customer review: 4.4 out of 5 stars 145 (145)
The Christmas Attic
~ Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Avg customer review: 3.7 out of 5 stars 81 (81)
In Stock
Price: $9.97
Securing the Future: Strategies for Exponential Growth Using the Theory of Constraints (St. Lucie Press, Apics Series on Constraints Management)
by Gerald I. Kendall (Author)
Avg customer review: 5.0 out of 5 stars 2 (2)
In Stock
Price: $59.10
2
The Flying Inn
by G. K. Chesterton (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.6 out of 5 stars 10 (10)
In Stock
Price: $10.36
My Neighbor Totoro (Full Screen Edition)
DVD ~ Noriko Hidaka
Avg customer review: 4.3 out of 5 stars 514 (514)
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
DVD ~ Sumi Shimamoto
Avg customer review: 4.6 out of 5 stars 182 (182)
In Stock
Price: $21.49
The World of the Theory of Constraints: A Review of the International Literature (The St. Lucie Press/Apics Series on Constraints Management)
by Victoria J Mabin (Author), Steven J Balderstone (Author)
Avg customer review: 5.0 out of 5 stars 1 (1)
The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force
by Jeffrey M. Schwartz (Author), Sharon Begley (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.3 out of 5 stars 35 (35)
In Stock
Price: $18.15
What Could He Be Thinking?: How a Man’s Mind Really Works
by Michael Gurian (Author)
Avg customer review: 3.3 out of 5 stars 27 (27)
Strategic Navigation: A Systems Approach to Business Strategy
by H. William Dettmer (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.3 out of 5 stars 3 (3)
In Stock
Price: $43.05
Empire: The Rise and Demise of the British World Order and the Lessons for Global Power
by Niall Ferguson (Author)
Avg customer review: 3.7 out of 5 stars 71 (71)
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire
by Jim Cymbala (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.9 out of 5 stars 131 (131)
The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature
by Steven Pinker (Author)
Oriana Fallaci: The Woman and the Myth
by Santo L Arico (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.0 out of 5 stars 1 (1)
In Stock
Price: $27.20
The Rage and The Pride
by Oriana Fallaci (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.0 out of 5 stars 126 (126)
In Stock
Price: $10.17
Victory: The Reagan Administration’s Secret Strategy That Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union
by Peter Schweizer (Author)
Avg customer review: 4.7 out of 5 stars 25 (25)
In Stock
Price: $10.40
Try Hobby Lobby for the inexpensive children’s classics. I’ve seen them on my last several visits.
I’m buying everyone a new washing machine for Christmas, so we can go to the library in clean clothes :-).
I’m on the wait-list for Clarence Thomas’s book.
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