[July 24, 2016] I’ve not had a book review here at theLeaderMaker.com in two months. Not because I haven’t been reading or working to bring my readers quality works on leadership but for the reason that I simply haven’t gotten around to it.
To make up for lost time and to bring a few good books to your attention books that tackle the subject of current major social issues, I’m today recommending three books. Yes, I’m recommending them to those leaders who want a little more depth on the social upheaval we are witnessing. These authors have tried to develop a substantive argument on why the world (mostly the West) has undergone a transformation that is both good and bad.
I confess that I liked each of these books and although they will not go onto my Reading List page, it is not for lack of quality but for not delving as much into senior leadership as I would have liked. However, they do tackle crucial issues that each of us will be affected by and will, undoubtedly, have to address as leaders.
The Intimidation Game: How the Left Is Silencing Free Speech, Kimberley Strassel, 2016
Of the three books here, clearly my personal favorite. The following two give a more philosophical and detailed ideological basis for what Strassel is saying here in her recent book. Essentially this book is about a government out of control, pushed there by intellectual leftists who want power. She deals with political correctness and how those same leftists want nothing more than to silence Americans who are willing to stand up to them. Get this book now.
Fools, Frauds, and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left, Roger Scruton, 2015
Essentially a book on the intellectual thinking of twentieth century leftists and the crucial flaws in their ideology. I especially liked the way Scruton explained the differences in communism and fascism. But Scruton goes further and is able to logically disassemble the smorgasbord of clichés and silliness of the leftist ideology. The basis of leftist thinking is of course Marxism and that America will never be happy until it reaches a socialist utopia. The book is not easy reading or for the faint of heart.
The Devil’s Pleasure Palace: The Cult of Critical Theory and the Subversion of the West, Michael Walsh, 2015
A primer on how Marxism, from the Frankfurt School of thought, has changed America post-WWII through the slow destruction of Western culture. Author Walsh describes how this thinking was to replace established American liberalism because it sees it as oppressive and unfair; to be replaced by a system of Marxist nihilism that is driven by a new intellectual class (not by the workers). Although not the most optimist book, Walsh believes the trend can be reversed by returning to the heroic narrative and virtues of traditional America.
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