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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2010
I read a lot of political and economic books, and (cards, table) I consider myself a "man without a party": fiscally and Governmentally "Conservative" / but socially "Liberal". And I loved this book. It was just the right "weight" -not overly wonky, but incredibly informative and enlightening.
Be warned: if you are an Evangelist or a frothing Sarah Palin fan, you probably won't like this book. Don't get me wrong, the author doesn't say anything at all about Mrs. Palin, but he does absolutely dessimate the myth that the GOP "owns" Religious People. And that "fact", in fact, has become a Deal With The Devil for the Reps. Mr. Derbyshire delves into this, and other party issues with intelligence, wit, and a unique perspective. So, right out of the gate, this isn't your usual "Republican" book. So be warned.
But I'm getting out of order here.
The main theme of the book is "Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism", which isn't exactly the central theme of the book. Sure, it's IN there, and the opening and closing certainly make a good case for "embracing pessimism". But if I were his publisher, I would've tweaked that tagline and perhaps renamed the book, having more to do with "confronting reality". Because that's what this book really is: an outright assault on the pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking and Good Intentions(tm) that have put the World in it's current precarious position.
And, aside form the setup and conclusion, this book is simply an uppercut to the millions of people in the world -many of whom are in power- who simply ignore reality, make up their own facts, and are steering our ship of humanity into a proverbial iceberg of ignorance.
Right away, Mr. Derbyshire takes on perhaps the biggest taboo in politics today: Multiculturalism, and the idea that a "melting pot" is always 100% awesome, 100% of the time. While even the most ardent Right Winger would wince at even discussing this topic (Racist!), he tackles the issue with aplomb, using careful research (from the UN, and proponents of Multiculturalism, no less), and makes a fascinating case against something that is more universally "accepted" as fact than Global Climate Change. Not to spoil the read, but his point here is not that we can't learn from other cultures, enjoy their influence, or even live together in relative harmony; rather that we're simply not being realistic about human nature. Again, the true central theme of this book.
You might not agree with everything in this book. In fact, you might not agree with MOST of it. But Mr. Derbyshire takes aim at the most Politically taboo subjects of our time -subjects that nobody else will even touch- and makes cogent, informative, and witty arguments about them.
Simply put, this book is simply a pleasure to read. And no matter where you land on the political spectrum, if you're an intelligent person, who enjoys a good debate, you will gobble up this book.
Be warned: if you are an Evangelist or a frothing Sarah Palin fan, you probably won't like this book. Don't get me wrong, the author doesn't say anything at all about Mrs. Palin, but he does absolutely dessimate the myth that the GOP "owns" Religious People. And that "fact", in fact, has become a Deal With The Devil for the Reps. Mr. Derbyshire delves into this, and other party issues with intelligence, wit, and a unique perspective. So, right out of the gate, this isn't your usual "Republican" book. So be warned.
But I'm getting out of order here.
The main theme of the book is "Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism", which isn't exactly the central theme of the book. Sure, it's IN there, and the opening and closing certainly make a good case for "embracing pessimism". But if I were his publisher, I would've tweaked that tagline and perhaps renamed the book, having more to do with "confronting reality". Because that's what this book really is: an outright assault on the pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking and Good Intentions(tm) that have put the World in it's current precarious position.
And, aside form the setup and conclusion, this book is simply an uppercut to the millions of people in the world -many of whom are in power- who simply ignore reality, make up their own facts, and are steering our ship of humanity into a proverbial iceberg of ignorance.
Right away, Mr. Derbyshire takes on perhaps the biggest taboo in politics today: Multiculturalism, and the idea that a "melting pot" is always 100% awesome, 100% of the time. While even the most ardent Right Winger would wince at even discussing this topic (Racist!), he tackles the issue with aplomb, using careful research (from the UN, and proponents of Multiculturalism, no less), and makes a fascinating case against something that is more universally "accepted" as fact than Global Climate Change. Not to spoil the read, but his point here is not that we can't learn from other cultures, enjoy their influence, or even live together in relative harmony; rather that we're simply not being realistic about human nature. Again, the true central theme of this book.
You might not agree with everything in this book. In fact, you might not agree with MOST of it. But Mr. Derbyshire takes aim at the most Politically taboo subjects of our time -subjects that nobody else will even touch- and makes cogent, informative, and witty arguments about them.
Simply put, this book is simply a pleasure to read. And no matter where you land on the political spectrum, if you're an intelligent person, who enjoys a good debate, you will gobble up this book.
