Dr. Thomas Sowell is the author of 43 (and counting) books and countless articles, commentaries and papers. In my opinion, he is the intellectual giant of our time. What further sets Sowell apart is his ability to take very complex ideas or issues and write about them in terms an average person can understand. Every book and article Sowell has written is worth your time. I decided to recommend Basic Economics because it is especially timely for the current political climate. One of the problems with our political system is that too many voters don't have a basic understanding of economics. Further, many politicians either lack an understanding, as well, or find it politically expedient to ignore basic economic facts. For example, there are voters who think you can get "free healthcare" from the government and many politicians are too happy to sell voters "free healthcare." While some of us may intuitively know there is nothing free in this world, in Basic Economics Dr. Sowell articulates and helps the reader understand why this is so. Warning, the book is 551 pages long and not "light" reading; easily understood, but you have to be able to think about what you're reading. Also, it will make your blood boil at what politicians get away with, because too many (politicians & voters) don't have a basic understanding of economics. However, don't let me scare you off. The information in this book is not just important, but really very interesting. It is packed with information we all need to have to be educated voters and conscientious citizens.
If you enjoy Basic Economics or if you want to start on a smaller scale I would recommend Economic Facts and Fallacies, also by Dr. Sowell. This book is only 221 pages long and easy to read (as are all of Sowell's books). However, in this book he is not explaining basic economics (and a prior knowledge is not required to understand this book). Sowell addresses some of the most obnoxious economic fallacies we have been spoon fed by politicians and the media because it suited their agendas; ideas such as, "green space," "discrimination," "foreign aid," the fallacy of asking why is one country is poor instead of asking, why another country is rich, the idea of "social justice," the ability of the media and politicians to use statistics in dishonest ways to further their agendas, and more. For such a serious topic, this was a fun read. This book will really arm you to recognize "B.S." when listening to the media or a politician.
Although Black Rednecks and White Liberals is not really about economics (although it touches on some economics-it is by Dr. Sowell after all) it is another favorite of mine by Dr. Sowell. The book touches on aspects of race, culture and history of which I had never heard or read before. It was eye opening and I highly recommend it.
My last Sowell recommendation is Late Talking Children which was later expanded on in The Einstein Syndrome: Bright Children Who Talk Late. This is a very topic specific book I would recommend to parents with a young toddler who is not yet speaking or for a parent who had a late talking child. Our daughter, a preemie, was a late talker and it was positively uncanny how many of her characteristics paralleled those of other late talking children, as described in this book. Sowell's son was also a late talker which is where his interest came from. This was actually my first Sowell book and my introduction to Dr. Sowell.
It's not easy being a Christian today. The media, at best, portray Christians as pathetic or goofy and, at worst, evil, bigoted, hate mongers. I found I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler & Frank Turek to be a wonderful reminder and fortifier of why I believe. From beginning to end, using logic, reason and science, Geisler & Turek show why it truly does take more "faith" to be an atheist than a Christian given the evidence. I also highly recommend this book to any student before going off to college. Today's college campuses are very antagonistic towards persons of faith and this book will help fortify the student's faith and give them the knowledge of how the arguments for believing are stronger than the arguments against (which they will hear from their professors). This book is very easy to read. It is not written for the scientific mind, instead it speaks to regular people, in easy to follow language about sometimes complicated issues. It is also a wonderful tool in Apologetics. Frequently throughout the book they will give a common argument against Christianity and then systematically show the error in the thought process or "evidence" of the atheist argument. In fact, Appendix 1 & 2 are a mock dialogues between an atheist and a Christian, which some may want to read first.
So you know you are conservative, but are at a loss to articulate it. You want to show your friends or loved ones the error of their "progressive/liberal" world view, but get tongue tied. Because, "God said so!" is not compelling enough an argument for some you may encounter. If you are ready to enter the fray and fight for our country you must read The Conservative's Handbook by Phil Valentine (among other books we have and will recommend). Let me say up front I agree with most of what Phil writes in general, but diverge on specifics of some issues. Further, the small size (about 7"x5" & 1 1/2" thick) of the book makes it very uncomfortable for reading. I get the whole "easy to carry handbook" idea (it can easily fit in a purse or coat pocket), but you practically need clamps to keep it open for reading, but I will say it is very durable.
The Top Ten Myths of American Health Care, A Citizen’s Guide by Sally C. Pipes is not only an excellent book, but very easy to read. Some books I have tried to read in the past about various topics I wanted to understand better were so laborious and mind numbing I either ended up just skimming them or quit reading altogether. Pipes shows it is the quality of writing, not the volume that determine a books worth. I wish more writers would follow her example. This book is just the facts, point by point. As the title indicates she discusses the top ten myths about health care, using facts and statistics to break down these oft-repeated myths. The best part is all of the facts and statistics are backed up with end notes listed at the back of the book. Many of the end notes include websites where the reader can go and do more research if they wanted to. At the end she also has a chapter discussing several solutions or steps we need to take to improve our Health Care System, as there will never be one quick fix to this problem. The book is hard to find, but on Amazon. I suggest it to anyone (everyone) who wants to understand the health care/insurance issue better. And frankly, we are running out of time, so order today!!!
