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Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys edited by Mary Eberstadt

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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of the most profound as he discusses society, the respect for life and how said it is that the 10 Commandments have been replaced by in our society by the two new

Worlds at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle Between East and West by Anthony Pagden

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Disappointed Anthony Pagden's Worlds at War: The 2,500-Year Struggle Between East and West was a book I was really looking forward to reading. It sat on my wish list for months and when I saw it just sitting there at my local library I greedily snatched it up and considered myself lucky to even have found it checked in. Thank goodness I did not waste my money buying it. I suppose the problem with a book of this nature is that it is bound to disappoint - some things will be "too" highlighted, some left out. Even worse for this book, niggling factual errors crop up that bother the careful reader and throw into doubt the validity of the more complicated interpretations of the work as a whole. Positives: The book is quite readable and you must give a tip of the hat to anyone who undertakes such a large and sweeping history. Negatives: The anti-religious comments taint large sections of the book: "...nor have I made any attempt...to disguise

The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen by Peter J. Tanous, Stephen Moore and Arthur B. Laffer

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How to ruin an economy in 10 simple steps Arthur Laffer The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen is a well-written book, filled with charts and graphs, is a great introduction to the principles of the Laffer Curve , the dangers of high taxes and the folly of many of the proposals that the Democrat leadership in the House, the Senate and Mr. Obama (and some Republicans) are proposing. On page 261 these foolish proposals and policies are laid out in detail. Hopefully, after having read the rest of the book the folly of those policies should be clear. Prior to that, the book explains the wisdom of low tax policies. The authors go through the recent history of the United States (from Hoover to Bush43) and demonstrate their principles in action. A fantastic introduction to conservative economic policy for the layman. I rate this book 5 stars out of 5. This book can be found at Amazon.com here: The End of Prosperity . Revie

The Run (abridged audiobook) by Stuart Woods

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A political thriller for people who do not really follow politics The White House Published in 2000 by HarperAudio Read by Ken Howard Duration: 5 hours, 39 minutes Abridged Ken Howard (most famous for his TV show The White Shadow ) narrates this nearly 6 hour abridgment of The Run , a below par political thriller. Filled with undeveloped story threads that promise something interesting but rarely delivers (the VP has alzheimers, militias are out to assassinate the candidate, the candidate's wife is a bigwig in the CIA, there's dirt on the candidate - all for naught) The Run is a great example of a political thriller for people who do not really follow politics. Lots of things won't sit right with folks who watch politics -primaries are still happening in July and August, there is at least one brokered convention (another one is hinted at but it may have been abridged out of my version), the amounts of money spent are tiny, even by year 2000 standa

Widow's Walk (A Spenser Novel)(audiobook) by Robert B. Parker

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  "Mr. Spenser, you are a little man in a big arena. You simply don't matter."  Published by Books on Tape Read by Joe Mantegna Duration: 5 hours, 41 minutes. Unabridged Robert B. Parker (1932-2010) With that comment fans of Spenser know that in Widow's Walk he's going to be digging in his heels and pull even harder at all of the loose ends until he finds something he can use. That is both the beauty and the weakness of the Spenser novels - they are formulaic. Spenser has a routine and this one touches all points:  Help from Hawk with a tail? Check.  Vinny Morris brought in to back up Hawk? Check.  Bounce his case off of Susan for a new perspective? Check.  Witty commentary? Check.  Both the cops and the bad guys irritated with Spenser? Check.  It's predictable but quite enjoyable.  The case is interesting and goes all over the place. The only real problem I had with this audiobook presentation is Joe Mantegna as the reader. Mantegna

Islam: The Religion and the People by Bernard Lewis

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Outstanding Bernard Lewis Islam: The Religion and the People is, without a doubt, the single best academic introduction to Islam that I have seen. It covers just about every facet of the religion for the non-expert, from what happens in a mosque on Fridays to the split between the Shiites and the Sunnis to how the Muslim world deals with not being able to charge interest to rules concerning food and the question of jihad. This volume is short, well-written and thorough. It includes a glossary of terms mentioned in the book with more explanation (so the text does not bog down). Sidebars are included throughout the text with humourous notes that further illustrate the issues that are being discussed. I have not encountered a better book to introduce Islam to the curious Westerner. I highly recommend this one to anyone heading off to a Muslim country, who works with Muslims or who is just curious about this popular, controversial and influential faith. I rate