Below is a brief overview of my top 10 books read in 2008, and the books sitting on my pile to start off 2009 with.  I am committed to 50 books for 2009 (one per week, give or take), and hope to review each and every one of them.  In the meantime, Happy New Year, and happy reading!  Your recommendations for additions to the list are always appreciated.  Note: I don't do novels, and I don't do theology (any more).
 

10.) Blue Blood and Mutiny: The Fight for the Soul of Morgan Stanley - Patricia Beard
Not all of you would find it interesting.  I read it cover to cover, barely stopping to eat.  But I am a Sr VP at the company ... ;-)

9.) Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy - Natan Sharansky
The man whose Case for Democracy finalized my conversion out of paleo-conservatism outdid himself with this delightful repudiation of multi-culturalism

8.) King of the Club - Charlie Gasparino
The story of the rise and fall of Richard Grasso, the head of the New York Stock Exchange over the last couple of decades, and the ultimate victim in Eliot Spitzer's despicable and self-serving series of crusades from 2002-2006.  Grasso, of course, did not resign in the midst of a massive hooker scandal while serving as the moral watchdog on Wall Street (that would be Spitzer).  Grasso resigned for taking the paycheck that the compensation committee gave him.

7.) Panic: The Story of Modern Financial Insanity - Michael Lewis (ed.)
I reviewed this a week or so ago, and remain blown away that the things I read were written as commentary of the 1987 crash, the 1998 meltdown, and the dotcom crash, as it sure felt like I was reading current events.

6.) The Return of History and the End of Dreams - Robert Kagan
A short but sweet piece from one of the most important foreign policy minds alive today.  Kagan's Dangerous Nation convinced me several years ago that I have been fed a load of bull about the founding fathers being isolationists; his newest piece convinced me that China and Russia remain as great of a threat as the Islamic terrorists do.

5.) Economic Facts and Fallacies - Thomas Sowell
Sowell, whom I wish more than anything was the first black President in American history, ruffles the feathers of those whose economic logic can always be reduced to redistributionism.  The book is not as insightful as Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson, but it is equally cogent and needed in today's atmosphere of economic illiteracy.

4.) Democracy's Good Name: The Rise and Risk of the World's Most Popular Form of Government - Michael Mandelbaum
The author of the paradigm-shifting Case for Goliath and Ideas the Conquered the World returns to top shelf in this extraordinary work documenting how democracy came to be the prominent form of government on planet earth and what conditions exist today that pose a threat to it.


3.) Liar's Poker: Rising through the Wreckage on Wall Street - Michael Lewis
I have to confess, rarely has a book been so hard to put down once I started reading it (and he wrote this in 1989, believe it or not)

2.) The Victory of Reason - Rodney Stark
Well, what do you know.  Reason, science, and morality have progressed because of Christianity; not despite it.

1.) God and Gold: Britain, America, and the Making of the Modern World - Walter Russell Mead
 It is not just the best book I read in 2008.  It is the best book I read by far.  It is one of the best books I have ever read, and I hope to read it every year for the rest of my life.  No book has ever done a finer job of covering the historicity and integration of religion and economics in the Anglo world.  The book is a descriptive and prescriptive masterpiece, evaluating the unique elements in England and later America that gave birth to this empire of freedom we enjoy today.

The ten books I am starting 2009 with (in order) ...
 

Conflict of Visions - Thomas Sowell (just finished it as part of my Triple B Book Club; Sowell at his scholarly finest)

The Spirit of the Disciplines - Dallas Willard (almost done)

Empires of Trust: How Rome Built, and America is Building, a New World - Thomas Madden

Behavioral Investment Counseling - Nick Murray (once I start I will probably not put it down until I am done based on his last two masterpieces)

Road to Serfdom - F.A. Hayek (my fifth or sixth time reading it; I try not to let too much time go by)

When Markets Collide: Investing in an Age of Global Economic Change - Mohamed El-Erian

Punic Wars and Culture Wars - Ben House

Nearer my God - William Buckley

Capitalism, Socialism, and Democracy - Joseph Schumpeter

Payback: The Conspiracy to Destroy Michael Milken and his Financial Innovation - Daniel Fischel

 

If I were to title this review article, it would be: Churchill, Buchannan, and a Pleading for a Purge, for this review is surely not about Hitler, and not about World War II. Unlike the author of the book I am reviewing, I feel no temptation to wonder if perhaps Hitler was trustworthy or not. I do not believe England was unwise and stubborn to resist Hitler's offer to leave them alone if they would just let him take over Europe. There is no attraction to the novel idiocy of wondering if World War II needed to be fought or not. Additionally, I have long passed the historical ignorance that says only England's commitment to defending Poland caused the great war. Hitler need not be mentioned in this review, because the facts about Hitler are incontestable. He was maniacal. He was as immoral as any man the planet earth as ever seen. And those who opposed him saved the world. If I were to write a book about that era, I would be writing one that condemned Hitler, and praised Churchill. But the book I am reviewing takes a different approach. And the book I am reviewing, should be avoided like the plague.

It is difficult to enumerate the historical inaccuracies in Buchannan's latest diatribe against the heroes of the 20th century. His agenda has become so clear, I question why he continues to be taken seriously in the cable news circuit (though on the other hand, I can see why at least the liberal networks would take glee at seeing this provocateur gain TV screen exposure). The underlying thesis of this 425 page waste of time is that Churchill is idolized by history incorrectly, and that he was an ignorant warmonger who had a bone to pick with the not-so-bad Germans. Buchannan posits that England's role in World War II ruined its once great empire, and that Churchill was the malfeasance who led them astray. He believes that the Holocaust could have been avoided if Churchill had not pushed England into a World War, a statement so offensive, so ghastly, so revisionist, and so preposterous, I am now led to the title I suggested for my own review.

It is time to purge Pat Buchannan from the orthodox circles of conservatism. The man is a disgrace. His efforts to combat multi-culturalism were admirable, until he went so far as to blast all multi-ethnic cultures. His exhortations for an intelligible foreign policy were appreciated, until his rhetoric against the Bush administration and the efforts to bring democracy to the middle east surpassed the extremism and radicalism of MoveOn.org. And frankly, his belief that history has been too kind to Winston Churchill had some merit, until he wrote this anti-semitic piece of garbage. And yes, that is the term I am purposely using - "anti-semitic."

I can not comprehend for the life of me how someone can believe that the Holocaust, which began as early as 1936, and has never been linked to English defense of Poland by any historian, ever, at any time, unless they have an axe to grind. For Pat, my careful discernment has led me to conclude the only possible conclusion - that is angst against American policy towards Israel, his opposition to a Jewish nation-state, his sickening work in placing Churchill and Hitler on a level moral playing field - are the results of anti-semitic tendencies and presuppositions. I would like to think that the conservative movement would keep this man out of their midst just on the basis of his economic illiteracy (overt trade protectionism), but I realize there is room for disagreement here. But if the guards of the conservative orthodoxy gate were to read this latest rant, I have no doubt that Buchannan would finally be viewed with the distrust and distaste I have learned to view him with. I do not say these words lightly.

I commend to readers of my article Christopher Hitchens' carving up of Buchannan's book in a recent issue of Newsweek magazine, and I also heartily encourage readers to see the book reviewed in National Review by David Pryce-Jones. They do a far more thorough and exhaustive job than I care to do in critiquing both the philosophy and history that is guiding Buchannan. For me, I simply wish to see him purged from our conservative midst. We have enough problems next door that we do not need this nuisance in our own yard.

 

Of all the issues that hold ideological significance in my life, none reach the level of gravity that the subject of faith and capitalism do.  I am convinced that there are more souls to be won by demonstrating the compatibility of free market economics with the Judeo-Christian worldview than any other mechanism on the planet.  Likewise, I am convinced that there are more societies and nations that can be won over to prosperity and freedom, if but only for the faith community's stubborn inability to embrace such.  Dr. John Schneider's remarkable work, The Good of Affluence: Seeking God in a Culture of Wealth, is a huge first step in seeing this dream become reality. 

 

I do not know what impact the book will end up having, as I do not believe it has received the audience it deserves.  I am determined to change that.  But allow me to comment a bit on what the book has successfully demonstrated:

 

- That God, as part of his normative will, desires for His people to live in delight.  Our covenantal journey is one of starting at, and returning to, Edenic conditions.  This is an economic journey, just as it is a spiritual and moral one.  Schneider's thesis ought not be confused with prosperity theology.  Schneider does not argue that all Christians will live in prosperity; he merely argues that those who do are called to such, and ought not be ashamed.

 

- The doctrine of moral proximity.  That is, that believers are most responsible for the things most proximate to them.  After reading Schneider's elaboration here, it is almost too obvious to be profound.  But I believe it has gigantic implications in the Christian life.

 

- That the "problem texts" for rich Christians are 100% of the time "problems" only for those abusing the poor - not those whose hard work and ambition has created material abundance.  Schneider carries us through Eden, the Exodus, the prophets, and the age of Jesus' own earthly ministry.  He powerfully posits that riches are not only not condemned in the Scriptures, they are encouraged.  This is where Schneider's credentials as a theologian become very valuable.  Pagans like Adam Smith, F.A. Hayek, Joseph Schumpter, and Ludwig Von Mises have done yeoman's work in demonstrating the superior capabilities of free market ideology.  Contemporary economists like Milton Friedman and Larry Kudlow have elaborated on such, and done so with a certain appreciation for faith and values.  But theologically pedigreed scholars have been few and far between in the movement to advocate a decidedly capitalistic culture.  Schneider gives us the best of all worlds.

 

The notion that all Christians belong in the "promised land" is rank heresy.  But so is the idea that all Christians belong in the "wilderness".  The sociological benefits of capitalism are so clear and so persuasive it is remarkable that the discussion still has to take place.  The Proverbial message of hard work leading to prosperity is not merely descriptive - it is prescriptive as well.  Schneider goes beyond the historical, sociological, and economic arguments for free market capitalism.  He intertwines such with the theological prescription that has been so massively absent from the works of Ron Sider, Jim Wallis, and Brian McClaren.  No theology professor in the country has written a book as important as Schneider's this decade.  I commend it wholeheartedly, and even more so, commend the efforts of all people of faith to bridge political and economic ideology with theology.

 

The 21st century has begun, and few could argue that it has launched with a bang, not a whimper. Less than one decade into the third millennium, and nearly all of the events, values, and patterns that dictated the direction of history over the last three centuries are being called into question. Francis Fukuyama has posited that we are living in the "end of history." Historians wonder if the age of Anglo-Saxon preeminence has come to and end. Economists and clergy alike interact with the relationship between faith and prosperity. Sociologists examine the impact globalization is having on social ills like poverty and disease. Western Europe is frequently described as a "post-Christian" culture, with America said to be not far behind. The role of faith in the institutions of society (the academy, the workplace, politics, the arts) is scrutinized routinely, and aggressively. The impact the American experiment has had on the human condition is debated passionately, with varying conclusions offered from all sides of the economic, religious, and political spectrums. The era of the "American empire" is called into question repeatedly, and some would say, so is the very future of western civilization.

These contemporary discussions do not lend themselves to linear thought processes. Simple premises, followed by simple conclusions, are hardly helpful. These are gigantic themes, requiring complex and nuanced perspectives. Bland understandings of history, culture, and philosophy are nuisances. Fortunately, in the midst of a need for serious and great discussion and understanding of these issues comes God and Gold, by the incomparable Walter Russell Mead, one of the best books I have ever read, and perhaps the most insightful and intellectual commentary on the present historical paradigm to have ever been penned.

Norman Podhoretz once said of William Buckely that he ought to have two types of fans: those who admire him for his ideological contributions and impeccable writing abilities, and then those who admire him for his impeccable writing abilities. Buckley's most ardent foes could not deny that he was a gifted writer, perhaps as remarkable in his poetry, creativity, and vocabulary as he was in his brilliant contributions to social and political thought. Mead is such a writer as well. It would take a rare kind of illiterate to not appreciate the remarkable writing abilities of Walter Russell Mead, regardless of one's feelings on his historical and socio-political commentary. This alone is reason enough to commend this fine work, but much more needs to be said.

I have long been an outspoken advocate of "American exceptionalism" - the seemingly irrefutable contention that America possesses a special place in God's plan and God's providence. Her heritage screams of her exceptionalism, and the future carries with it the magnificent responsibility that America's lot has created. What Mead does in this book is expand on "American exceptionalism", and essentially show how the greatness and responsibility ushered in over the last three centuries is really an extension of the exceptionalism of the entire Anglo-Saxon civilization. Mead defines this in the context of the synthesis between the Anglo-Saxon "religious belief system and its historical experience." The Anglo-Saxon attitude was one where "a new kind of religious equilibrium in which capitalism and social change came to be accepted as good things." He refers to this as the "Whig narrative." The book devotes massive space to analyzing the historical roots of Anglo-Saxon civilization, and drawing the parallels between Cromwell's England, and what would become the great American experiment. The history lesson alone is worth this 400-page read.

But alas, this is not merely an historical text. It is deeply ideological and extraordinarily provocative. As one who considers the integration of the Judeo-Christian faith with the forces of modernity, progress, and economic advancement to be the great and crucial issue of our time, no issue could be of greater interest to this reviewer. Rooted in the Anglican triad of reason, revelation, and tradition, Mead analyzes with much depth the religious foundation of Western civilization and the cultural forces that created the paradigm we now face. The extraordinary challenge of establishing global democratic peace is critiqued, along with the delusional utopianism that such is often (though not always) accompanied by. To Mead, "we are not in an age of collapsing grand narratives; we are in an age of competing grand narratives", and it is this competition that creates the stage for the modern dialogue. Mead's admiration for the role of capitalism in setting the world stage is clear to see, and he views Adam Smith's "invisible hand" as a defining mark of the Anglo paradigm (the whig narrative). "The cult of the invisible hand, uniquely intense, uniquely widespread and all-pervading, may be the chief difference between the English-speaking world and the rest of the world." Mead credits America's birth to the bridging of Smith's invisible hand with Jefferson's idea of democracy ("an adaptation of the dynamics of the invisible hand to the political sphere: the action of individual human beings, controlled only by their sense of their own interests, producing an orderly and harmonious society." Other societies had possessed capitalist underpinnings, and other societies had embraced democratic ideals. But it is the mix of a "capitalist system .. with a political system and political values that can accommodate the clashes of opposed interest without blowing up" that made our great experiment unique and profound.

Mead pulls no punches in demonstrating liberal democratic capitalism to be rooted in the heritage of Christianity. The noted trend towards secularization (post-Darwin) in American thought and life do not negate the rich and abundant heritage this country has in a Protestant faith. To Mead, this is not merely anecdotal. Our societal temptations and distractions do not redefine who we are as a people. And who we are has always been a people rooted in faith, law, order, and values; and yet, we are a people with an insatiable appetite for advancement and progress. To analyze our place in the world without such a backdrop is futile.

While in a moment I will highlight what I feel is the true optimo maximus of this project, Mead leaves his readers with a deeply convicting challenge that I suspect will take a generation to accomplish. He posits, much to the chagrin of evangelicals, of neoconservatives, of those on the right, of those on the left, of internationalists, of utopians, of progressives, of protectionists, and of market-driven globalists, that much - much - is to be done toward the goal of "surfing the waves of global change." He vindicates no one in his work here, and challenges all. On one hand, he points out that "the Whigs will not build a global Tower of Babel, a single set of laws and values that overshadow the whole world". Yet, he also affirms that "those who resist and oppose the Whig civilization will be unable to free themselves from its presence." Understanding our place in the world requires a vigilant aggression against the forces of violence and tyranny that threaten us (the Cold War Soviets in the last generation; the Islamic Jihadists in the current one). But to Mead, we must "maintain a critical stance towards our own moral and political claims." We must pursue incremental and partial victories while simultaneously resisting the utopian fantasies that we can usher in the Kingdom of God. A "capacity for action and assertion with a capacity for reflection and self-criticism" is an obtainable and noble goal. Mead largely appeals to the teachings of Reinhold Niebuhr as it pertains to foreign policy, a Protestant theologian known for his conversion to hawkish and aggressive foreign policy, all the while maintaining liberal social and economic views. But beyond the specifics of various policy matters, Mead's appeal to Niebuhr is fundamentally an appeal for members of this Whig narrative, and members of faith communities more particularly, to "engage more intelligently, compassionately, and effectively with the world." Mead touts the incrementalism of Niebuhr, what he refers to as the idea of "just enough." His pleading is compelling: "American society is gradually gaining the capacity to play the global role to which its economic and geopolitical success has called it. And while I do not know to what degree Americans can gain the ability to conduct a more fruitful diplomacy of civilizations, I am certain it is our duty as well as in our interest to try (emphasis mine)."

I have mentioned the massive historical task of Mead's work, and I have summarized his underlying thesis: that faith and pursuit of prosperity have intertwined in this historical experiment to create a truly exceptional society, and one with tremendous global responsibility in the present age. But it is Mead's last chapter, titled "The Meaning of it All", that ought to be required reading for every student from junior high school through advanced graduate school in the western hemisphere. This is, indeed, the optimo maximus (the best and greatest) of his project. He examines the claims and concerns that Anglo-Saxon culture will end up in the ash heap of history, alongside the Greeks and Romans before them. He wonders if the goal to "establish just, orderly, prosperous, stable and free world societies on the basis of liberal and democratic capitalism" is one of lasting significance. And, needless to say, he demolishes the pretensions that the answer to the former is yes, and to the latter no. For Mead, the contributions of the Anglo-Saxon world to the formation of a truly global society is a substantial achievement, and allegations that at the roots of this historical movement lie mere superficiality, materialism, and rank hedonism, are patently false.

The aspirations of the American experiment to create a materially prosperous society do not pit material wealth against intellectual and moral strength. Mead asks, "if the project of material betterment is really the only thing that liberal society offers mankind, then what becomes of qualities like self-sacrifice, nobility, courage, and honor?" Indeed, if the end run of the American experiment is, as Mead jokingly mentions, Homer Simpson, isn't this an anti-climactic disaster? Mead is blistering, emphatic, and delicious in his answer to this "make or break" question. He believes that to interpret the material aspirations of the Whig narrative in this capacity is to not only "miss the essential point of the Anglo-American project", but "to miss the grandeur of the human race" as well. I quote Mead verbatim:

"The quest for more scientific and technical knowledge, and for the application of the fruits of that knowledge to ordinary human life, is not simply a quest for faster cars and better television reception. It is a quest to fulfill the human instinct for change arising out of a deep and apparently built-in human belief that through change we encounter the transcendent and divine. The material and social progress that is such a basic feature of Anglo-American society and of the broader world community gradually taking shape within the framework the Anglo-Americans have constructed ultimately reflects a quest for meaning, not a quest for comfort and wealth."

Our quest produces material benefits, surely. In fact, the American experiment has also created many Homer Simpsons. But, and this can be said forcefully enough, at its root, the American experiment has not been one of mere material frivolity. It has been an "encounter with transcendence that requires us to leave the familiar and embrace the challenge of a new kind of life in an ever-developing world." Mead goes so far as to say that "capitalism gives full expression to the side of human nature that responds to this Abrahamic call to embrace dynamic religion with all its perils and risks." Mead captures here what I think is the essence of this highly toxic topic in the present state of affairs: It is mankind's innate pursuit of adventure and innovation and change and expansion that capitalism most fully cultivates - not mankind's depraved tendencies toward sloth and depravity. "Human nature demands conflict and competition, not tranquility and sloth." The lesson of the American experiment is the testimony to this principle: that men, in pursuit of the peace they crave with their Creator, are most capable to excel, climb higher, and pursue destiny, when the context they function within promotes their instinctive drive for development and growth. The Anglo-Saxon world has captured this, and civilization will never be the same.

Questions abound as to what the future holds for the west. Great political and social questions and controversy abound. These are dynamic issues, and dynamic questions, and no black and white answers exist. How will the great project of the last few hundred years end up? Mead does not issue any guarantees. But I close with his prediction, one worth reading the entire masterpiece of a book to get to:

"I cannot predict how this will end. But it seems likely that as the historical process continues to accelerate, and even as dangers surround us on every hand, much of American society is going to approach this new and so far rather unsettling century with the optimistic faith in the invisible hand that has long been our hallmark. One way or another, large numbers of Americans are likely to continue to believe that the values that have shaped the Anglo-American world and by which the Anglo-Americans have gone on to take the lead in the last three tumultuous centuries remain the values that bring success in their daily economic and political pursuits. They will also continue to believe that these values are leading us westward and upward .. America will continue rushing forward, however steep the slope of forbidding the terrain, bearing its banner with the strange device: Excelsior!"

Loftier, still higher, ever upward, indeed. God Bless America.