bbled list of the books I have read
for the past little bit:
Law, Legislation and Liberty (again) by F.A. Hayek. 9/10!
I only reread the first volume which discusses rules and order and how they emerge spontaneously. It's a great read for those who love freedom!
Deconstructing the Republic by Anthony Peacock. 8/10!
A great and short (200 pages) book about how the
Voting Rights Act has corrupted the voting process and perverted the Founder's conception of republican, individual-based government. Great for arguing with your liberal friends!
Politics by Aristotle. 9.5/10!
The only reason this got 9.5 is that even after rereading a bunch of the sections I still struggled to understand some of what Aristotle was trying to say. Aristotle talks about the natures of the different kinds of governments and which of those are best (Aristocracy of course!) and other interesting things, like how to treat your slaves and the proper role of women (you'd love it Kelsi!). A must for everyone who doesn't want to be considered stupid.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. 9/10!
A beautiful book about one day in the life of a Siberian concentration camp prisoner. It is simply beautiful. It is fiction, but based on the experiences of people who lived there. It's not gruesome or anything, and I think everyone who reads it will love it.
Notes from the Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky. 8/10!
It only gets 8/10 because the book makes me so sad and Dostoevsky really highlights terrible and evil feelings that we all experience, and because the protagonist thinks and writes in a fairly sporadic style that seems a little unbelievable at times. Overall, it's beautiful, like all Russian masterpieces.
Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek. 9.5/10!
What can I say? Hayek rocks. This is a partisan piece on how the Socialist programs of Europe could lead to the same Totalitarian philosophy that overtook Germany and caused the Second World War. It is short and concise. A MUST!
Faiths of Our Fathers by Alfred Mapp. 5/10....
This book gets a poor score due to my perception of it as bad history. It's title should be, The Founding Fathers Were All Christians In Some Form or Another and Here's Why....It's not so much that I disagreed with the book as that if I weren't a Christian and I read the book I would be more convinced than ever that the stories about the Founding Fathers being Christian were myths and propaganda promulgated by poor histories such as this one. I admit that my perception is limited by my lack of education, but it still struck me poorly.
(FIRST OFF! Check out Calhoun's hair, does he look like the classic conception of Satan or what?!)
Union and Liberty, a collection of works by John C. Calhoun. 8.5/10!
Although Calhoun supported slavery as a positive institution for society, he made brilliant constitutional arguments about that and other things which still influence the debates concerning constitutional problems and questions. I loved this book and shall reread it to gain a better understanding of how John Calhoun got such awesome hair!
The Anti-Federalist Papers. 8.5/10!
The original (and not stupid) tea-partiers! Read what they thought about the inability to stop the expansion of the national government, the danger of the presidency, and the tyranny of the Supreme Court!
The Church Books I've read:
With Full Purpose of Heart, A Collection of Discourses and Writings of Dallin H. Oaks. 8/10! E. Oaks writes and speaks like a lawyer, and I love him for it.
To Draw Closer to God, a Collection of Discourses by Henry Eyring. 9/10!
Pres. Eyring rocks. He speaks to the heart of the matter and you can tell he is focused on getting the message of the Atonement into the hearts of his listeners.
All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, Neal A. Maxwell. 8/10!
E. Maxwell writes a bit like C.S. Lewis, just a bit, and it makes for a short and good read full of great prose and charming thoughts. I wish he'd get a little more into it sometimes, but who can't love E. Maxwell?!
God in the Dock, a Collection of Essays by C.S. Lewis. 8/10!
It only gets 8/10 because it is not quite the concentrated apologetic work that I was expecting, but it is very good nonetheless.
SO THERE! I'm not gone, in fact, I'm back and better than freaking ever! WHO'S GOING TO CHALLENGE ME NOW?!
2 comments:
Political books, religious books, Russian literature. SURPRISE SURPRISE.
Just kidding, kind of. I'm sincerely glad you are back and still reading the stuff that no one else will.
You won't read Russian literature? Or C.S. Lewis?! LIAR!
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