DWD's Reviews

A fun and interesting read P.J. O'Rourke This quick read is also must read for any political junky. The book teaches the reader that there are many paths to conservatism but a whole lot of conservatives began moving to the right as a reaction against over-reaching on the part of liberals at one of our country's many fine universities. Practical experience in the real world does a lot of changing of political minds as well (that was the case for me). Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys also teaches the reader that there are lots of funny conservatives out there. P.J. O'Rourke's essay was a stitch. Danielle Crittenden's is funny and rings true to every parent. Joseph Bottum's observation are not really humorous, but they are some of the most profound as he discusses society, the respect for life and how said it is that the 10 Commandments have been replaced by in our society by the two new...

Fantastic! Originally published in 2002. D'Souza starts Whats So Great About Americ a with a thorough indictment of America. In a 30 page chapter entitled "Why They Hate Us" he honestly and thoroughly lays out all of the arguments about why America is reviled by so many. By the end of the chapter the reader begins to wonder if there really is anything so great about America. The balance of the book is spent answering every charge leveled in the first chapter. I have rarely read a book on contemporary politics in which I agree so thoroughly with his analyses. I may be just a high school history teacher but I do a lot of thinking about history and a lot of reading. The big ideas such as those of Locke, Rousseau and Jefferson fascinate me and I like to think about what their philosophies mean for us if implemented in the real world. D'Souza's comments on the West being an inheritance from both Athens and Jerusalem (pp. 60-61) closely mirror a concl...

It was not only a joy to read but also well worth the effort Published in 2007 by Salem Books I read D'Souza's What's So Great about America last year and I enjoyed it. To use a food analogy, What's So Great About America is like a 4th of July dinner of hamburgers, chips and a soft drink - filling but also fun and easy to consume.  What's So Great About Christianity is a much more complicated work. If it were a meal it would be like a 3 course porterhouse steak meal - more challenging to consume, more work to prepare and, in the end, more filling. But there's a lot more chewing. This is a work that requires a lot more thought and more time to read and properly understand.  D'Souza systematically delves into all aspects of Christianity - from the areas of the world to where it is growing today to science to miracles to the "problem" of evil to the charges that more have been killed in the name of Christianity (and other religions)...