Christopher Hitchens is your typical angry liberal who is also an atheist so my expectations were pretty low when I read his biography on Thomas Jefferson.This brief biography turned out to be a fairly good read although predictably, Hitchens focuses a disproportionate amount of time on Jefferson’s affair with Sally Hemings and his deism.Beyond that, the book effectively covers Jefferson’s life in Paris, as Secretary of State, Vice President and his Presidency.
Transforming Leadership
Titled a book about leadership, James MacGregor Burns’ “Transforming Leadership” is more about history than leadership.He covers characters throughout history from the Founding Fathers, Karl Marx, FDR, Gorbachev and others and applies his theory of leadership to their actions.Transforming Leadership is explained as understanding the needs and wants of others and implementing solutions that alter the surrounding environment in such a way that the needs are met.The book is difficult to read due to the author’s unorganized style and inability to explain his thoughts in meaningful ways.The book ends with a silly idea for ending world poverty.Burns suggests placing thousands of “community activists” in third world countries to help understand the poor’s wants and needs and mobilize local leadership to get resources (food, shelter, medical care, etc.).He mentions ACORN (exposed in 2009 for offering to help with an illegal loan for a brothel) as a good example of this type of community activist organization. The problem is that these countries are poor because they lack these resources; of course Burns’ solution is for America to pay for his idea.He wags his finger at the United States for only spending one-tenth of 1 percent of our GNP on foreign aid.Burns forgets how expensive it is to be the world’s peace keeper.
Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer John Grisham’s recent book is about a thirteen year old boy named Theo Boone who is enthralled with the law and hopes to one day become a trial lawyer.He often spends his days in the courthouse sitting in on trials and knows many of the Judges and Law Enforcement professionals.The book is written in typical Grisham style with interesting characters and tons of suspense that keeps you captivated throughout the entire book.Theo will find himself in the middle of a sensational domestic murder trial with lots of twists and turns.
How an Economy Works and Why it Crashes
This book is about economic fundamentals and theory written by Peter and Andrew Schiff.The book uses cartoons of an imaginary island economy and tends to oversimplify its subject matter, but is nevertheless a good book to read.The reader will walk away with a better understanding of where economic growth comes from and the impact of trade, savings and risk taking.The Schiffs do a good job explaining the destructive nature of too much government interference in a nation’s economy, especially the negative impact of over taxation and regulation and the destructive effects of too much debt and attempts at government stimulus.This should be required reading for President Obama.
The Patroit’s Toolbox: Eighty Principles for Restoring our Freedom and Prosperity
The Patriot’s Toolbox is written by conservative think tank, The Heartland Institute and is a great read for any conservative thinker.The book tackles major legislative issues from healthcare, school reform, and privatization to energy, the environment and others.Each chapter begins with an introduction of the topic along with its main principles.The book is fact based and debunks several myths.Each chapter ends with a detailed listing of references used for research.
American Caesars: Lives of Presidents from FDR to George W. Bush
American Caesars is a well written book by Nigel Hamilton about the last 12 US Presidents, from FDR to George W. Bush.The book starts off well covering each man’s road to the White House, their presidencies and private lives.However, once Hamilton enters contemporary history, he becomes void of intellectual thought and transforms from a historian to an angry liberal.Nigel Hamilton repeats false claims made by Democrats and the liberal press that Reagan’s tax cuts were for the rich and increased deficits (the tax cuts were across the board and revenues to the federal government doubled).Hamilton remarks that George H. W. Bush rode a crest of “patriotic, evangelic tide of greed and indifference to the poor”.When he covers Clinton’s presidency, he complains about the “lunatic right” and suggests conservative racism forced Clinton to fire Surgeon General Joyceln Elders who in reality did not always display a lot of intelligence and was a constant embarrassment to Clinton’s presidency.The low point of Hamilton’s book is when he blames Newt Gingrich and conservatives for the Oklahoma City bombing asserting “The Oklahoma City bombing, however, showed that Speaker Gingrich, not the government was the problem, and people like him”. The chapter on George W. Bush was like reading a transcript from MSNBC.There are two political parties in recent history who have attempted to re-write history, the Communist and Democrat parties, the later half of American Caesars continues this attempt.
Lee: The Last Years
If you like history, especially about the Civil War, then you’ll love reading Charles Bracelen Flood’s “Lee: The Last Years.This is an incredible book about Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last years after the Civil War.The book begins at Appomattox with the South’s surrender to Union forces and moves to the Lee family’s short stays in Richmond, Virginia and a friend’s farm until settling in Lexington, Virginia as the President of Washington University (later renamed Washing and Lee University after his death).The book shows Lee’s celebrity status in the south, his leadership helping to reunite the country and his cutting edge approach to higher education which is still felt today.
Freedom's Frame
“Freedom’s Frame” sat on the bottom of a stack of books on my nightstand for over a year.I had discounted the book because I had received it for free at an event, boy was I wrong.This is an excellent book about the fundamentals of our American Republic. The book covers 4 principles (1) there are moral absolutes, (2) our rights to individual freedom (3) the importance of free enterprise (4) consent of the governed is the only legitimate government. Rick Green is a former Texas State Representative and a gifted writer. This is a great read for all conservatives.
The Complete Guide to the Bible
If you’re like me and periodically like to read summaries of the bible then you’ll like reading Stephen Miller’s “The Complete Guide to the Bible”.It contains well written summaries of each of the books of the bible and covers the main point, information about the writer, the date each book was written and the location of events.The book is well supported by archaeology, history and scientific facts with many illustrations, photos and maps to aid understanding.
Infidel
Infidel is a fascinating book written by and is about Ayaan Hirsi Ali from Somalia, a former member of the Dutch Parliament. Parts of the book read like a suspense novel and covers her life in Somalia, Saudi Arabia and Kenya living in a very strict Muslim family.In this autobiography Ayaan writes about her struggles with the Muslim religion, beatings by her mother, the pain and humiliation of forced genital mutilation and her arranged marriage. Ali eventually seeks asylum in the Netherlands.Ali helped a director by the name of Theo van Gogh create a film about Muslim women suffering from similar fates and he is eventually murdered. Van Gogh was cycling to work when he was shot eight times by a Muslim extremist who attempted to decapitate him and pinned a note to his body with a knife.The note threaten western countries, the Jews, as well as, Ayaan Hirsi Ali.Ali is now targeted for death by these same extremists.
One Pilgrim's Progress: How to Build a World-Class Company, and Who to Credit
I was surprised how much I enjoyed reading this book.The book is an autobiography of Bo Pilgrim’s life and is filled with practical advice that can be applied to your everyday life and to the business world.A great example is the guidance Bo offers as a business expands.(1)Have a long term strategic plan but don’t allow yourself to get bogged down by it.Whether it’s your business, career or life in general, you should expand and grow in the direction of opportunity.Seize the good opportunities that come your way.(2)Seek to coordinate your various enterprises as you expand, weighing opportunities along the way.(3)Trust God to do the overall orchestrating of your plan and especially your life.
Biblical Literacy: The Essential Bible Stories Everyone Needs to Know
Biblical Literacy by Timothy Beal is a mediocre book that provides briefs on the top Bible stories.Each of the briefs gives a perspective on each particular story’s influence on society and culture and offers questions for the reader to ponder as they read.Unfortunately, Beal misses opportunities throughout his book to provide the reader with a deeper understanding and rarely connects Old Testament with New Testament such as how we see the Trinity several times when reading Genesis.
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