Rating: 
Summary: First of all, I am not politically correct...
Review: ..., says Sowell in this book and, really, he is not. Sowell exercises with mastery and skillfully his favourite "hobby": bashing without mercy the anointed ones (leftists, in the peculiar sowellian vocabulary), giving no truces to their dogmas (lies) on the political, economical, social, racial and educational scenes, dismounting all them one by one. "Barbarians inside the Gates" is an excellent work, from a leading figure of the movement against political correctness' intelectual dictatorship, constituting ammunition of the highest quality to be employed in the counter-cultural war on leftism.
Rating:
Summary: First of all, I am not politically correct...
Review: ..., says Sowell in this book and, really, he is not. Sowell exercises with mastery and skillfully his favourite "hobby": bashing without mercy the anointed ones (leftists, in the peculiar sowellian vocabulary), giving no truces to their dogmas (lies) on the political, economical, social, racial and educational scenes, dismounting all them one by one. "Barbarians inside the Gates" is an excellent work, from a leading figure of the movement against political correctness' intelectual dictatorship, constituting ammunition of the highest quality to be employed in the counter-cultural war on leftism.
Rating:
Summary: I am in agreement with the other reviewers
Review:
Thomas Sowell is more than just a critical thinker: he has a penchant for expressing his ideas with a clarity with which it is difficult to argue. He uses that uncommon commodity known, for some strange reason, as "common sense."
Sowell points out`the ludicrous incongruities of the liberal "philosophy" in terms so plain and unvarnished that only one attempting a proctological examination on themselves could miss it. An example: "The point of being a superpower is so that no one will attack you and require the sacrifice of more and more young Americans like those buried in this cemetery. We were attacked at Pearl Harbor because we were sitting ducks who had allowed our military forces to dwindle away until we had an army smaller than Portugal's--and not enough equipment even for this small force." Page 7. Or: "Multiculturism is one of those affectations that people can indulge in when they are enjoying all the fruits of modern technology and can grandly disdain the processes that produced them. None of this would be anything more than another of the many foibles of the human race, except that the cult of multiculturism has become the new religion of our schools and colleges, contributing to the mushing of America. It has become part of the unexamined assumptions underlying public policy and even decisions in courts of law." Page 19. Or: "Much of the current uproar about IQ differences between blacks and whites does not get down to the rock-bottom question: What is there to explain? The average score of blacks in IQ tests in the United States is about 85, compared to a national averge of 100. Is that unusual? No. It is not." He goes on to explain that various groups of various ancestries have had IQs of 85 at various times and places, and he names some of them, and says that the phenomenon is not peculiar to the United States, and he admits that he doesn't know why. Even American aoldiers of the First World War had lower IQs than our soldiers of the Second World War. Page 176. This is a man to be reckoned with, and these essays are valuable for their insights, most of which effectively puncture widely and emotionally held ideas, especially those that are deemed "politically correct," and institutionalized unquestioned dogma of the liberal anointed who think they are qualified to tell the rest of us how to think and act. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: I am in agreement with the other reviewers
Review:
Thomas Sowell is more than just a critical thinker: he has a penchant for expressing his ideas with a clarity with which it is difficult to argue. He uses that uncommon commodity known, for some strange reason, as "common sense."
Sowell points out`the ludicrous incongruities of the liberal "philosophy" in terms so plain and unvarnished that only one attempting a proctological examination on themselves could miss it. An example: "The point of being a superpower is so that no one will attack you and require the sacrifice of more and more young Americans like those buried in this cemetery. We were attacked at Pearl Harbor because we were sitting ducks who had allowed our military forces to dwindle away until we had an army smaller than Portugal's--and not enough equipment even for this small force." Page 7. Or: "Multiculturism is one of those affectations that people can indulge in when they are enjoying all the fruits of modern technology and can grandly disdain the processes that produced them. None of this would be anything more than another of the many foibles of the human race, except that the cult of multiculturism has become the new religion of our schools and colleges, contributing to the mushing of America. It has become part of the unexamined assumptions underlying public policy and even decisions in courts of law." Page 19. Or: "Much of the current uproar about IQ differences between blacks and whites does not get down to the rock-bottom question: What is there to explain? The average score of blacks in IQ tests in the United States is about 85, compared to a national averge of 100. Is that unusual? No. It is not." He goes on to explain that various groups of various ancestries have had IQs of 85 at various times and places, and he names some of them, and says that the phenomenon is not peculiar to the United States, and he admits that he doesn't know why. Even American aoldiers of the First World War had lower IQs than our soldiers of the Second World War. Page 176. This is a man to be reckoned with, and these essays are valuable for their insights, most of which effectively puncture widely and emotionally held ideas, especially those that are deemed "politically correct," and institutionalized unquestioned dogma of the liberal anointed who think they are qualified to tell the rest of us how to think and act. Joseph (Joe) Pierre
author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening
Review: An excellent read. Sowell puts to shame the moronic meanderings of the midget-minded, mushy-mouthed media moguls.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightening
Review: An excellent read. Sowell puts to shame the moronic meanderings of the midget-minded, mushy-mouthed media moguls.
Rating:
Summary: Typical Sowell--Very Intelligent
Review: Anyone familiar with Thomas Sowell's widely syndicated columnes will not be surprised by the abundant wisdom that permeates this chrestomathy. Politically Incorrect to the hilt, Sowell has an amazing ability to elevate common sense to an art form. Whether taking on the multiculturalists' drive to Balkanize America, environmental extremists, or self-mutilating corporations, his arguments are eloquent in their profound simplicity
While liberal bashaws certainly will not embrace his erudite dialectics, no reasonable person can dismiss his viewpoints. Even those who disagree with Sowell's observations will be challenged to rethink their positions if they approach his essays with an objective and discerning mind.
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking...As Always
Review: If you're familiar with Thomas Sowell's newspaper column or his earlier books, you'll love this collection of essays from one of the most remarkable thinkers of our time. As a former economist and professor, Mr. Sowell offers readers a rare perspective on social and political issues. For him, problems like "scarcity" and the "law of diminishing returns" don't stop when they reach the banks of the Potomac or the professor's lectern. Many readers will label the author as a conservative. I describe him as a man who understands how the world works and desperately wants to inject common sense into the public discourse. The author pulls no punches. He just tells it like it is. Where else will you read: "It is used to be said that taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society. Today, taxes are the price we pay so that politicians can buy the votes of those who are feeding at the public trough?" Not only will you be nodding your head with every bit of wisdom, you'll find yourself laughing with him at the stupidity of our national elites. No sacred cow of the political left escapes his wrath. As a reader, I couldn't consume this book fast enough. If you purchase this book too, you'll be overcome by a similar craving.
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking...As Always
Review: If you're familiar with Thomas Sowell's newspaper column or his earlier books, you'll love this collection of essays from one of the most remarkable thinkers of our time. As a former economist and professor, Mr. Sowell offers readers a rare perspective on social and political issues. For him, problems like "scarcity" and the "law of diminishing returns" don't stop when they reach the banks of the Potomac or the professor's lectern. Many readers will label the author as a conservative. I describe him as a man who understands how the world works and desperately wants to inject common sense into the public discourse. The author pulls no punches. He just tells it like it is. Where else will you read: "It is used to be said that taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society. Today, taxes are the price we pay so that politicians can buy the votes of those who are feeding at the public trough?" Not only will you be nodding your head with every bit of wisdom, you'll find yourself laughing with him at the stupidity of our national elites. No sacred cow of the political left escapes his wrath. As a reader, I couldn't consume this book fast enough. If you purchase this book too, you'll be overcome by a similar craving.
Rating:
Summary: Barbarians Inside the Gates: And Other Controversial Essays
Review: In this latest collection of his always provocative essays, Thomas Sowell once again demonstrates why he is one of the most thoughtful, readable, and controversial thinkers of our time. With his usual unrelenting candor, Sowell cuts through the stereotypes, popular mythology, and "mush" surrounding the critical issues facing our nation today. Combining reason and common sense with actual historical and statistical evidence, he challenges the assumptions of those cultural and political elites he calls "the anointed" - those who are "presuming or pretending to know answers that could be applied through government programs" - and offers a hard-hitting perspective that is uniquely his own."--
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