Rating: 
Summary: You don't have to agree with Prager...
Review: ...to learn from him!Crack open this book, but don't forget to bring your mind along for the trip. Prager will have you revisiting values you thought you were sure of, and leave you, if a little less confident, perhaps a little more wise than you were when you began.
Rating: 
Summary: Highly recommended; great perspectives on current events
Review: After reading "Happiness is a Serious Problem," which I enjoyed immensely, I felt compelled to look into Dennis Prager's ideas concerning a number of other interesting topics. In more ways than one, "Think a Second Time" has much to offer one who loves to delve into controversial topics. In my opinion, Mr. Prager is a superb thinker and an excellent writer who has a gift for expounding on social and political issues from a perspective other than our typical "knee jerk" reaction elicited by the media. I applaud the way he exposes issues and counters conventional wisdom (read "bias") with sound logic and philosophical acumen. At other times, however, he can be a little too forceful in his convictions as they relate to matters of [his] faith and religion. That's good for him, surely, but in my opinion it occasionally knocks the flow of this book out of kilter. The 47 chapters in this book are divided into four parts with different themes. The first part, which is superb, deals with human nature, gender differences, family issues and the media. Part Two, also excellent, gets a little heavier, and discusses political (e.g., liberalism vs. conservatism), racial and religious issues. Check out the chapter on television news. Part Three deals almost entirely with ethical monotheism (i.e., the belief in one God from whom emanates one morality) and its association with the "good vs. evil" dilemma. This is where you might get bogged down with the author's passionate Jewish convictions. I didn't come across anything totally eye opening here, but I did find the references to Hebrew writings to be somewhat interesting. Part Four (which I believe was added into the latest edition) deals entirely with the 1995 State of Illinois Supreme Court decision involving "Baby Richard," who was taken from his adoptive family and given over to his biological father after four years. I hadn't followed this case before, and I found it interesting and well-written. If you don't care to read about major court proceedings, stop after Part Three. Overall, I enjoyed the way Mr. Prager gets me to think (more than a second time) about a slew of important philosophical, ethical and religious issues. On that basis, I give this book a big thumbs up. Cut out Part Three, which was too much of a deviation, and you'd have a 5-star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended; great perspectives on current events
Review: After reading "Happiness is a Serious Problem," which I enjoyed immensely, I felt compelled to look into Dennis Prager's ideas concerning a number of other interesting topics. In more ways than one, "Think a Second Time" has much to offer one who loves to delve into controversial topics. In my opinion, Mr. Prager is a superb thinker and an excellent writer who has a gift for expounding on social and political issues from a perspective other than our typical "knee jerk" reaction elicited by the media. I applaud the way he exposes issues and counters conventional wisdom (read "bias") with sound logic and philosophical acumen. At other times, however, he can be a little too forceful in his convictions as they relate to matters of [his] faith and religion. That's good for him, surely, but in my opinion it occasionally knocks the flow of this book out of kilter. The 47 chapters in this book are divided into four parts with different themes. The first part, which is superb, deals with human nature, gender differences, family issues and the media. Part Two, also excellent, gets a little heavier, and discusses political (e.g., liberalism vs. conservatism), racial and religious issues. Check out the chapter on television news. Part Three deals almost entirely with ethical monotheism (i.e., the belief in one God from whom emanates one morality) and its association with the "good vs. evil" dilemma. This is where you might get bogged down with the author's passionate Jewish convictions. I didn't come across anything totally eye opening here, but I did find the references to Hebrew writings to be somewhat interesting. Part Four (which I believe was added into the latest edition) deals entirely with the 1995 State of Illinois Supreme Court decision involving "Baby Richard," who was taken from his adoptive family and given over to his biological father after four years. I hadn't followed this case before, and I found it interesting and well-written. If you don't care to read about major court proceedings, stop after Part Three. Overall, I enjoyed the way Mr. Prager gets me to think (more than a second time) about a slew of important philosophical, ethical and religious issues. On that basis, I give this book a big thumbs up. Cut out Part Three, which was too much of a deviation, and you'd have a 5-star rating.
Rating:
Summary: Engaging and thought-provoking...
Review: Awhile back, my father and I attended a fundraising dinner for a local organization in which the keynote speaker was Dennis Prager. This was essentially my first exposure to this gem of a human being and guide unto many. How else can I put it: I was, and still am, enthralled by him. Since then, I have listened to his radio show and have begun to read his articles and books. In Think a Second Time, we read 44 essays covering 44 distinct subjects, in which we are indeed forced to "think a second time". While I certainly don't agree with all of what Prager presents and the conclusions he reaches in certain areas, his arguments are all engaging and well thought out. I previously have never found such convincing arguments in favor of capital punishment before reading this work. I laughed out loud several times when reading Prager's dictionary exposing the true implications of liberal terminology. I appreciated the chapter dealing with religion potentially making a person cruel along with the transcription of Prager's radio conversation with Isaac, a caller to the show, dealing with the evil massacre of Baruch Goldstein in 1994. Today, when many distort and pervert religion to carry out evil, it becomes more imperative than ever to condemn such acts in the strongest of terms. This is especially true within the Orthodox Jewish community in which there are tragically those that laud Goldstein's deplorable act. Prager's conversation with Isaac brings much needed moral clarity in this area. Of note, another chapter particularly illuminating was that dealing with faith in G-d after the Holocaust. Enough said of this outstanding work. Seek it and read it for yourself. You will most certainly be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: Let's Critique the Critics
Review: Critics have called Prager's works "Reader's Digest Philosophy" or "religious zealot, rightist rantings". These "critiques" are compliments because Prager's works are popular, enthusiastic intellectualism and actually quite right, though perhaps Prager is "right-brained" . As a non-observant Christian Prager fan, I say: the fact that this book is most entertaining only obscures (mercifully) the profound extremes to which others have taken Dennis' topics. Simplicity is not always shallowness. Here, simplicity is clarity of thought and eloquence. A common criticism of Prager's works (sometimes by me) generally center around the apparent lack of substance. But that criticism is unfortunate because the facility with which one reads Prager is only testimony to his style. Serious detractors are usually priggish and unnecessarily scholastic-sorts of academic Philistines. In fact, Prager's works are excellent popular summaries and syntheses of profound intellectual works he has obviously read, but simply not cited. Regarding the specious claim that Prager's ideas are sectarian reflections of his Judeic background, compare the clearly non-"Jewish" debate of Hobbes and Locke on man's basic evil nature or the "pagan" humanism of the stoic, Marcus Aurelius. For those who enjoy more turgid prose and stodgy profundity: don't buy this book. If you wish to read an entertaining introduction to timeless philosopical-theological social issues, buy the book. For those who criticize books like Prager's I ask: what good are works (some of them I sheepishly admit are mine) read only by the cloistered literati? A book widely mis- or not-understood is just as much a waste of human talent as a book never read? The fact that a book is a "popularization" in its style, which Prager's books are indeed,does not detract from the merits of its contents;it enhances it. Prager could easily expand and footnote this book with all the the great philosophic treatises of the world, but that would not necessarily make his book more meritorious, only ostensibly more ponderous and less appealing to those who need it the most. I suspect that those who criticize the popular style have ignored, or perhaps not even read, the content (See his excellent work on "Happiness"). Prager is really most profound but simply does not seem so. (Prager discovered that thinking clearly does not always have to hurt.)In this respect Prager's works are similar to mass market books by Hawking on cosmology and C.S. Lewis on Love. To those who criticize this book: think twice, you might be wrong. For those who are curious about this book: don't think twice, buy it; you can't go wrong. (Nice job Dennis!)
Rating:
Summary: Sound advice...start today.
Review: Dennis Prager addresses--specifically and philosophically--one of the most serious problems in contemporary America. In a world of sound bites and quick images, too many decent people are being swayed by emotional arguments that end up hurting everyone in the long and not-so-long run. Prager cites a number of issues too often presented emotionally instead of reasonably, as well as some instances that could use more humanity--as in the case of child being torn from his "real" parents. It's a worthwhile read on the road to sanity.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, Intelligent, and Absolutely thought provoking
Review: Dennis Prager indeed provides compelling insightfulness into issues that are often not well thought out. His thoughts are refreshing and intelligent and full of common sense. He provides the moral background to a society that badly needs one. His wisdom and convictions in his beliefs are absolutely compelling. FIVE STARS ABSOLUTELY! MUST READ FOR EVERYONE!
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly informed, emotional preaching
Review: Dennis Prager is an LA-area radio talk show host and a popular speaker in the area. He also used to edit a one-man magazine called Ultimate Issues, from which the essays in this book are selected. Prager clearly considers himself an intellectual and a deep thinking one at that. His promo page at the KABC radio website describes him as "an honest and fiercely independent man of reason." This book fails to live up to such claims. Prager repeatedly displays several serious intellectual weaknesses: 1) painting issues that are deeply ambiguous as simple black and white choices, 2) dealing with strawman arguments rather than the real issues raised by those on the other side, and 3) failure to get even simple facts about the issues right. An example is Prager's treatment of the issue of poverty as a cause of crime. Prager notes, correctly, that many liberals see poverty as a cause of crime. But in arguing against this position, Prager ignores the complexities of the issue. Poverty is not the sole cause of crime, nor does any serious thinker argue that it always causes crime. Yet the arguments Prager deploys on this issue are arrayed only against these strawmen. Prager also displays his typical factual sloppiness when he claims that crime was low in the Great Depression--in fact the highest recorded murder rate in US history was in 1933, at the bottom of the Depression. Prager's discussion of other issues is similarly marred. For example, in discussing the death penalty, which he favors, he ignores most of the serious issues raised by death penalty opponents, such as the huge flaws in our legal system that prevent the death penalty from ever being administered in a just way. The one issue he does grapple with, the possibility of executing an innocent person, he brushes off as a "remote possibility," ignoring the fact that there have been executions of men who were almost certainly innocent since the death penalty was reinstated in 1977.
Prager likes to portray himself as a moderate, even a "passionate moderate." He is not. He is an extreme conservative who is very close to conservative Republican leaders. It is also ironic that this "man of reason" makes so many arguments in his book that are nothing but raw appeals to emotion.
Rating:
Summary: Ethical monotheism made thought-provoking
Review: Dennis Prager sets himself two closely related tasks in this volume: to provoke his readers to "think a second time" about matters we may have taken for granted, and to prod us to care more about ethical behavior than we do about pretty much anything else. He succeeds at both jobs. Prager's basic contention is that ethical monotheism is the necessary foundation of all moral thought and practice. While ethical monotheism was revealed to and through the Jewish people, it does not demand that everybody in the world convert to Judaism; however, Jewish thought has traditionally set aside a group of ethical laws (called the "Noahide laws") which are binding on all humankind. (Here he is of course on very solid ground.) Throughout this work, Prager -- who describes himself as a "passionate moderate" -- applies the insights of traditional, historic Judaism to a host of pertinent social issues, thinking the issues through carefully and insightfully to sometimes surprising conclusions. I won't discuss his conclusions in this review because that would undermine one of Prager's purposes in writing the book in the first place. Having spent so many years working in the media, he's not expecting many (or even any) of his readers to agree with him about everything; though of course he is committed to his own particular conclusions, what he _most_ wants to do here is to stimulate thought and debate. He's good at it, so I'm going to leave that job to him. If you want to know what he thinks -- or, more importantly, _how_ he thinks -- you're just going to have to read the book!
Rating:
Summary: Ethical monotheism made thought-provoking
Review: Dennis Prager sets himself two closely related tasks in this volume: to provoke his readers to "think a second time" about matters we may have taken for granted, and to prod us to care more about ethical behavior than we do about pretty much anything else. He succeeds at both jobs. Prager's basic contention is that ethical monotheism is the necessary foundation of all moral thought and practice. While ethical monotheism was revealed to and through the Jewish people, it does not demand that everybody in the world convert to Judaism; however, Jewish thought has traditionally set aside a group of ethical laws (called the "Noahide laws") which are binding on all humankind. (Here he is of course on very solid ground.) Throughout this work, Prager -- who describes himself as a "passionate moderate" -- applies the insights of traditional, historic Judaism to a host of pertinent social issues, thinking the issues through carefully and insightfully to sometimes surprising conclusions. I won't discuss his conclusions in this review because that would undermine one of Prager's purposes in writing the book in the first place. Having spent so many years working in the media, he's not expecting many (or even any) of his readers to agree with him about everything; though of course he is committed to his own particular conclusions, what he _most_ wants to do here is to stimulate thought and debate. He's good at it, so I'm going to leave that job to him. If you want to know what he thinks -- or, more importantly, _how_ he thinks -- you're just going to have to read the book!
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