Listen to the Lion

Who is John Galt?

If you've read Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, you know the answer to that. If you haven't read it, you probably should.

But first, read my Examiner column about it.

Nobel laureate, Algore

Algore gets a Peace Prize? Really? What does using bad science to advocate severe limits on  economic and personal freedom have to do with peace?

You might as well give Nancy Grace the National League MVP award.

More in my Examiner column.

Algore, philosopher

I've always had the feeling that Al Gore is talking down to people, an impression that gets stronger every time I hear him talk.

He is clearly enjoying the adoration without intellectual accountability  given him by the media and everyone who hates Bush.

But he really is profoundly ridiculous when you look at not just what he says, but how he says it and how he deals with diverse viewpoints.

Here's a little bit of what I mean.

Princely virtue

First read my Examiner column on the need for a Machiavellian outlook in foreign affairs.

Then read Machiavelli's The Prince and Kaplan's Warrior Politics.

2 from Michael Lewis

Here's my Baltimore Examiner column about one of my favorite non-fiction writers.

Resovling to read

My Examiner column on my 2007 reading list.

Your last chance at happiness

Here's my Sept. 22 Baltimore Examiner column on the book Stumbling on Happiness and why watching Zach Braff movies depresses me.

But he is going to make a new Fletch movie. That one might not make me sad.

Must-read music books

Here's my contribution to NRO's summer books series.

Let me here reiterate my strenuous praise for Peter Guralnick's Elvis biographies. If someone asked me for a reading list to learn about American music, or America itself, I would tell him to start here.

Tom Wolfe on the Web

No one over the age of 40 understands contemporary America like Tom Wolfe. If you haven't read any of his books yet, especially his novels, do so now.

Here's a segment from NPR where Wolfe talks about what makes humans unique in the universe: language. Walker Percy and I agree with Tom.

And here's a talk he gave last month called "What's Southern Today?"

Manliness

Here's today's Baltimore Examiner column about Harvey Mansfield's book Manliness, United 93 and more.

Download be_column_5_may_06_manliness.pdf