Read These Books Now!

It's a left-right battle, and information is the ammo!

If you want to arm yourself up for liberal-conservative battle (or just make a small-government argument), there are literally hundreds of books you could read. If you're like me, you just don't have that kind of time.

Herewith I humbly commend to you four books that will get you up to speed in the minimum amount of time while giving you the maximum amount of essential history and critical information.


1. The 5000 Year Leap, Cleon Skousen
Absolutely essential, unless you are already a constitutional expert. He breaks down the founders' ideas into 28 easy to understand principles. If you want to understand the constitution and the thinking that went into it, you must read this book. It also has many useful quotes from the founders.

2. Liberty and Tyranny, Mark Levin
If you are a political neophyte, this is a must-read for you. He clearly and concisely explains the great issues facing us today, and applies the timeless principles of our founding fathers to each of them. Levin's gift is to make complex issues understandable and accessible to ordinary people.

If you're already politically well-versed, you may find this book a little pedantic. This is in no way a criticism. He writes like he speaks, and he thoroughly covers all the important issues without going too deep, which is a plus for beginners. If you could only read one book, this should be the one.

3. Hoodwinked, Jack Cashill
A veritable catalog of liberal lies. You will be stunned at what progressives have gotten by with these past 150 years. This is a treasure trove of material to lob back at the smug liberals who think they know it all. It is also useful for disabusing the ignorant who have innocently believed everything professors and news magazines have told them.

It's all there: The scientific frauds in pursuit of proving we all came from Darwin's primordial soup, Planned Parenthood's racist founding, Criminals the left hold up as heroes. As a bonus, Cashill's storytelling style makes this a breezy read that is never dull.

4. Liberal Fascism, Johah Goldberg
This is the mother lode of progressive history in America. It took me some time to read this book because it was so dense with information. I often found myself stopping to ponder some point or flip back to the footnotes because I could not believe what Goldberg was saying. He lays his case out carefully and with copious authoritative references.

This is an immensely interesting book for those who like history, and it is a slow read only because it is so packed with good information. It is well worth the read. You will understand just what fascism is and why the American left can be accused of it when you're done. You will also be able to explain why Mussolini and Hitler were not "right wingers," but rather hard-core socialist demagogues who harnessed commerce and society to the wagon of state.

Extra Credit:

The Forgotten Man, Amity Shlaes

An economic history of the great depression. Her central thesis is that Roosevelt's Keynesian meddling prolonged the economic woes of the 1930's. This book also gives you a good sense of the roots of progressivism and the urge to believe big government can solve everything.
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President Obama didn't invent progressivism; it's been around for over 100 years. He is merely using current crises to advance progressivism's Long March. Read these books and you will see the big picture. Never again will you believe, as I once did, that the liberal movers and shakers are merely misguided.  They have an agenda!

Progressivism/liberalism has a rich ideological history and a mature doctrine. It is the left's game plan. Time to arm up with knowledge and fight back in the arena of ideas.