[January 27, 2016] Well, the big snow storm is over for the Northeast and we are fortunate that more damage was not done. I admit to a sore shoulder, upper back, and arm from all the shoveling. Anyway, things slowed down and gave me more time to sit around the house and to catch up on some of the reading I’ve been meaning to do. Today, two books that are a bit different from my previous reviews.
The Disuniting of America: Reflections on a Multicultural Society, Arthur Meier Schlesinger, 1998 (Revised).
The title of Schlesinger’s book puts spurs on the theme of his book. He gives a good kick in the side to American society when he takes on multiculturalism; an ideology that he believes has been taken to extremes. He writes in an easy-to-read style that flows through the book that allows him to present ideas without troubling the reader. Schlesinger argues that Western societies have run off their tracks. America, he writes, has denounced the idea of a melting pot and has shifted to protect and perpetuate separate ethnic, racial, and gender communities. Philosophically, America has become a nation of groups, and not as individuals. We are now divided into groups based on inborn traits rather than on our individual abilities and character. Assimilation is replaced by fragmentation and integration by separation. What is interesting is that Schlesinger is a political liberal but one with a keen historical perspective. Highly recommended.
… and now for my bonus book:
The Code of Man: Love, Courage, Pride, Family, Country, Waller Newell, 2003.
Newell argues that modern man has lost touch with the virtues and the values that have defined mankind for millennia. Not surprisingly, he suggests, modern men are confused and angry. Additionally, many believe today that American men are lazy, self-indulgent, hedonistic, corrupt, and lack conviction for our way of life and are unwilling to defend it. This book is a guide for the modern man; specifically the Western modern man. Newell’s conclusion is that modern man is in the midst of a Renaissance and writes that Manhood is coming back. In short, this book is about how to be a man!
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