Reading offers one of life's great pleasures, and 2007 brought a host of excellent books on a wide range of topics. Here is a quick review of some of the highlights of the year, along with our picks for the best books of 2007:
Bob Tyrell weighed in with yet another look at the Clintons, this time focusing on the post-presidential saga of Bill Clinton in The Clinton Crack-Up: The Boy President's Life After the White House (Thomas Nelson 2007). The more things change for Bubba, the more they stay the same. He continues his global search for public love and acclaim, while continuing his philandering ways. Clearly Bill Clinton is a man adrift, one who is threatened by the potential of his wife to eclipse him in the public eye.
Radio host Hugh Hewitt takes an in-depth look at Mitt Romney in A Mormon in the White House? 10 Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney (Regnery, 2007). A staunch Romney admirer, Hewitt provides an enlightening look at the business whiz who has become a leading politician, and perhaps our first Mormon president.
Laura Ingraham, another radio host, brings her sharp wit and keen eye for hypocrisy to the current cultural and political wars in Power to the People (Regnery, 2007). Ms. Ingraham is a forceful advocate for the conservative cause and promises to keep up her fight against the secularism that is destroying American institutions.
In a very balanced, first look at the Bush presidency, Robert Draper captures the essence of George W. Bush in Dead Certain: The Presidency of George W. Bush (Free Press, 2007). Given inside access to the President and his advisers, Draper provides a behind-the-scenes look at the incredible successes of the Bush presidency, as well as the blunders that have undermined his fellow Texan's popularity with the American people.
Now for our finalists for The Forgotten Street Book of the Year. They include two fascinating memoirs and a scathing look at a growing crisis within our government.
In The Prince of Darkness: 50 Years Reporting In Washington (Crown Forum, 2007) legendary columnist Robert Novak has produced the penultimate book on political reporting. This book is the best, bar none, in lifting the veil on the major media and our country's leading political figures of the past half century. Novak does not spare anyone in his book, including himself, from a seering look at the foibles of American political life. If you really want to know how the elite media works, this book is the one to tell you. It's incredibly well-written and will keep you up late at night turning the pages.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has produced a very different memoir, a poignant look at his incredible life story in My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir (Harper, 2007). Thomas' tale will at times break your heart for the horrible racism and poverty that he endured, as well as make you swell with pride at his accomplishments as a conservative thinker. At times I found myself in tears, but in the end, I could only shake my head in admiration for this truly great American. Liberals who have attacked this man and tried so hard to undermine him should hang their heads in disgrace. This book is very moving, and extremely well-written.
But our Book of the Year goes to Shadow Warriors:The Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender by Kenneth R. Timmerman (Crown Forum, 2007). Veteran journalist Timmerman looks at entrenched ideologues in the State Department, CIA and other agencies who have actively undermined the Bush administration's foreign policy. By working with the elite media and Democrat politicians, these "shadow warriors" have produced leaks that have destroyed important tools in the fight against Islamofascism and have hidden documents that proved the existence of WNDs in Iraq and Saddam Hussein's links to international terrorism. This book will get your blood boiling if you are a patriot and believe in democracy. Along with America Alone by Mark Steyn, published in 2006, Shadow Warriors is a book you must read to fully appreciate the uphill fight our country has if we are to prevail against the terrorists.
Here are a few other books The Forgotten Street recommends to further educate, enlighten and entertain you.
The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and The Fall of Communism By Paul Kengor (Regan, 2006)
This riveting account of Ronald Reagan's 40-year crusade to crush what he saw as an "evil empire" proves once and for all that President Reagan was the driving force in defeating communism. Relying on extensive research of those involved, plus access to newly declassified presidential and Russian documents, Kengor has written the definitive history of the downfall of communism. A professor at Grove City College, Kengor is fast becoming the recognized expert on this subject. Once you start this book, you won't be able to put it down. The behind-the-scenes account of how Reagan thwarted a lethargic American bureaucracy and provided the leadership needed to change the disastrous policy of containment is fascinating.
The Enemy At Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility For 9/11 By Dinesh D'Souza (Doubleday, 2007)
Hoover Institution scholar Dinesh D'Souza's new book offers a provocative, even startling thesis: the radical Muslim attack on America was provoked by revulsion caused the perceived atheism and moral depravity of contemporary American culture, not by a clash of civilizations. The author argues that traditional Muslims, as well as the radicals, believe that secular American values will undermine traditional Muslim society and religious belief. He believes that the Western left and radical Muslims now are actually allied to defeat President Bush's war on terror and that our salvation lies with convincing traditional Muslims that we share their basic values opposing secularism.
Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After The White House by Mark K. Updegrove (The Lyons Press, 2006)
A former Newsweek publisher, Updegrove takes a fascinating look at the post-presidential lives of our more recent Presidents, from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton. His behind-the-scenes look at how former leaders advised their successors, how they coped with the loss of the spotlight and how more recent Presidents have taken on larger de facto ambassadorial roles sheds an incisive light on some of our history's more illustrious figures.
The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion by Robert Spencer (Regnery Publishing, 2006)
Islam expert Spencer offers a detailed and thoroughly researched look at the Muslim prophet, with extensive documentation from sources considered the most reliable by Muslim scholars. In revealing the true nature of one of the world's major religions, Spencer is sure to spark controversy among Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The book clearly depicts Muhammad's directive to convert non-Muslims to Islam or force them to live as second-class inferiors under Islamic rule. Given the inflammatory nature of his work, Spencer lives in an undisclosed location.
Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity: Why Everything You Know is Wrong by John Stossel (Hyperion, 2006)
Stossel, star of ABC's 20/20 punctures conventional wisdom with his calm and reasoned examinations of popular beliefs about the media, public schools, government, health care, consumer issues and lawsuits, among others. You'll spend half your time laughing, the other crying at what passes for common knowledge.
America Alone: The End Of The World As We Know It by Mark Steyn (Regnery Publishing, 2006)
If you read only one book in the next year, make it this one. Canadian Mark Steyn has emerged as the most insightful columnist on the War on Terror. Known for his razor sharp wit, he applies it to a very deadly situation -- the rising tide of Islam that threatens to engulf Europe and much of the Asian world, leaving America standing alone as the bulwark of Western civilization.
Culture Warrior by Bill O'Reilly (Broadway Books, 2006)
No one has a better grip on the culture war dividing America between traditionalists and secular-progressives than talk show giant Bill O'Reilly. This highly readable book examines the role of political, media, academic and entertainment elites in striving to degrade America's Judeo-Christian heritage and move our country toward a godless society.
Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America -- and What We Can Do About It by Juan Williams (Crown Publishers, 2006)
Veteran Washington journalist Juan Williams takes a searing look at the negative hip-hop culture that is threatening to destroy the progress made by black Americans through the civil rights movement. Taking Bill Cosby's speech to the NAACP gala celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Brown vs. Board of Education decision as his inspiration, Williams exhorts black Americans to embrace the traditional values of self-help, strong families and faith in God that sustained the civil rights pioneers.
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (W. M. Morrow, 2005)
Who says statistics and economics can’t be fun? Professor Levitt, an economics teacher at the University of Chicago comes to many unexpected conclusions, such as abortion being a major factor in the lowering of the overall crime rate. You’ll find yourself shaking your head in amazement.
The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy by Peter W. Huber and Mark P. Mills (Basic Books, 2005)
Contrary to conventional wisdom, which is often hopelessly stupid, we are not remotely close to running out of oil. Huber and Mills argue that energy supplies are infinite because the more energy we need, the more adept we become at finding more of it.
The West’s Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations? by Tony Blankley (Regnery Publishing, 2005)
This brilliant book frames today’s clash between Western modernity and the medieval nature of Islamofascism as the ultimate fight for our survival. Not for the faint of heart, Blankley’s book will shake you to your core.
Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy by Peter Schweitzer (Doubleday, 2005)
Everyone loves to dish about celebrities. In this book, Peter Schweitzer skewers most of our favorite liberals, from Michael Moore to Babs Streisand. His subjects are exposed for the amoral hypocrites they are and how their public pronouncements amount to nonsense.
John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan (Viking, 2005)
One of America’s more gifted writers has produced a truly beautiful book about John Paul II. Ms. Noonan’s heartfelt faith shines throughout this volume as she tells a moving tale of a humble Polish priest who became one of the great spiritual leaders of all time.
Godless: The Church of Liberalism by Ann Coulter (Crown Forum, 2006)
What’s not to love about Ann Coulter, whose fearless assault on all liberal icons will make you laugh and cry at the same time. Beyond her caustic manner is an expert dissection of all that is wrong with modern liberalism. As for the theory of evolution, she positively demolishes it.
America: The Last Best Hope by William J. Bennett (Nelson Current, 2006)
Bill Bennett brings his facile writing and dry wit to bear on revisiting the great American story, a history of the heroic founders and pioneers who helped shape our great nation. He tells the tale with a sense of pride and patriotism, two elements certainly missing in our children’s history textbooks today. The first of two volumes, this book should be a “must buy” for your family library.
