Sunday, January 30th 2005
Read a Book
One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to read at least one book a week, not counting assigned reading. I’ve already failed, but hopefully I’ll get through a couple each month.
I just finished reading Liberty in Troubled Times: A Libertarian Guide to Laws, Politics and Society in a Terrorized World by James Walsh. I’m pretty confused about the current state of civil liberties and other such things. I don’t know what to make of the Patriot Act, for instance. On one hand… on the other… How does a small government ideology work in the new world we live in? At least on economic issues I know where I firmly stand. So this book looked like it could answer a few questions. The author structured the book so that each topic only has about 10-15 pages of discussion. It really leaves you wanting to know more. Though I suppose that’s a good thing, if you’re looking for a starting point. I’ll probably need to read more on the subject. I give it a 3/5. But I’d rate it higher for a liberal or mainstream conservative; you guys could probably get more out of it than me.
The next book on my list is The Pentagon’s New Map by Thomas P. M. Barnett. (I checked both of these books out from the school library. I’ll have them back by mid-Feburary.) It seems like a good book on new ways to approach foreign policy. The author has short article in the latest Wired, if you want a sample of his worldview.
And here’s something I came across in the Chronicle. It’s a biography of former governor Pat Brown, but it also tries to explain why California is such a blue state today. I might read it, I might not. It could be too depressing. We’ll see.
