Book Review | This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital by Mark Leibovich

If you needed any reason to be cynical about American politics–especially nationally–then Mark Leibovich’s This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral — plus plenty of valet parking! — in America’s Gilded Capital is the book for you. I guarantee that you will not put it down with a breath single breath of hope and optimism […]

Thoughts on Feardom by Connor Boyack

I’ve long followed Connor Boyack’s career. A libertarian and out of the box thinker, Boyack has never been afraid to defend his conclusions, and he does so with articulation and passion. His latest literary foray is no exception. In Feardom: How Politicians Exploit Your Emotions and What You Can Do to Stop Them, Boyack fervently […]

Review | The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die by Niall Ferguson

One of the most interesting books I’ve read in recent years was Niall Ferguson‘s Civilization: The West and the Rest, an examination of the extraordinary rise of Western Civilization relative to the rest of the world and the causes that seem to be at the root of its apparent decline. Ferguson’s newest book–The Great Degeneration: […]

Review | The Price of Politics by Bob Woodward

AND NOW: something completely different than our typical posts of late on time travel, different worlds, and wizards. Politics. (And just like that we loose half our readers…or more). Just a short while ago, the US of A was in the throws of yet another manufactured crisis–the sequester! A long word with a very simple […]

Review | Anthem by Ayn Rand

If you’re looking for something from Ayn Rand that’s a tad bit shorter than “Atlas Shrugged,” but can still show you her philosophy in a nutshell, “Anthem,” her novella set in a dystopian world of the future, may be worth the effort. It didn’t take me more than a sitting and a half to flip through it. […]

Review | Confidence Men: Wall Street, Washington, and the Education of a President by Ron Suskind

Ron Suskind’s a good writer, but he’s also in love with Barack Obama. Well, maybe not in love, but he’s certainly not an objective or dispassionate observer. Even while he’s observing that Obama may not have been ready for the Presidency, he’s lavishing praise on the politician. I read as long as I could, but […]

Review | The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies by Bryan Caplan

Lately, I’ve not had a lot of time to read. But when I have had time, I’ve enjoyed reading the wonkish and pointed “The Myth of the Rational Voter” byBryan Caplan. It’s an economist’s look at why, as the sub-title says, voters tend to support bad public policies. The reason, Caplan argues, is not special […]

Review | Comeback America by David M. Walker

As the former comptroller general of the United States, David Walker knows a little about the fiscal workings of the modern federal government. For fifteen years, he served under both Republican and Democratic presidents from Reaganto Clinton to the Bushes), and had a unique opportunity to call into question the decisions that have lead to our current fiscal woes.And he doesn’t hold back.  As […]

Review | The Blueprint: How the Democrats won Colorado by Rob Witwer and Adam Schrager

If you walk away with nothing from this book, it should be this: by using data, organization, and money,  political operatives are manipulating how voters think about their candidates with less than accurate information, and it is driving good candidates away from public service. Without a doubt, “The Blueprint: How the Democrats Won Colorado”  is […]

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