Rating: 
Summary: Could this book help our civilization survive?
Review: This is a book that every parent must buy and read to his children. William Bennett has done a masterful job in compiling and collating the best moral tales from history and literature to teach our children (and ourselves) how to live virtuous lives. The underlying supposition is that virtue must be taught and that it is not innate to human nature. This concept of teaching virtue is increasingly understand attack by the political left and ignored by just about everyone else. As our society drifts into a morass of moral relativism, The Book of Virtues is a bold stroke against the decay of virtuous living. It is interesting to note that the historian Will Durant repeated makes the observation that the decline of virtue, the innate sense of right and wrong, is the precursor to the decline of civilization. When the middle class ceases to purse virtue, the pursuit of hedonism and self-serving pleasure becomes paramount. The result is that instead of seeking the greater good and the common defense a society becomes weak. Religion, virtue and patriotism become objects of scorn by the so-called intellectuals and artist. Little do these intellectuals realize that the pursuit of art and philosophy is only possible because religion and of virtue made it possible. Until there is order in the land (economically, socially, and politically) people have little time or energy for the pursuit of art and philosophy. Only when a society obtains a level of order and economic prosperity does civilization turns it attention to the arts. Religion and the pursuit of virtue provide the stability and economic foundation upon which the arts and philosophy are founded. As civilization thrives, art and philosophy become increasing hostile to religion and virtue as they seek to find freedom from the restraints they impose. But what these intellectuals do not realize is that they have sown the seeds of their own destruction by doing do. Without virtue, men will not stand up for what is right, nor will they defend their society. The recent terrorist attacks in Spain are a case in point. The Spanish peoples response to terror was surrender. Nobody wants to fight, nobody wants to stand for virtue. As a result if current demographics continue within fifty years, most of Europe will be Moslem. European civilization as we know was mortally wounded after two world wars and will die unless the pursuit if virtue is rediscovered. All civilizations rise and fall. Their strength is the pursuit of virtue. Can American survive the current onslaught of relativism? Only time will tell. But as long as we have men like William Bennett who pass on the next generation the virtues that have made us great, I am hopeful we will survive.
Rating: 
Summary: Ho Hum say my kids
Review: Too bad the pompous twit who wrote this book didn't pause in his gamboling amid the flesh pots of Vegas, to think about the morals of the stories in this book. Bennett is a preachy, self rightous hypocritical scold. The stories in the book are old gems, beloved by generations and untarished by Bennett's rather common and tacky behavior. Find them at your local library and read them with pleasure, but bypass this book, less it's sales enable further bad behavior on the part of this "moral paragon" of American virtue.
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