Customer Reviews

10 Books Every Conservative Must Read: Plus Four Not to Miss and One Impostor

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

Let me start off by saying I'm in favor of anything that encourages people to read more C.S. Lewis and G.K. Chesterton. If J.R.R. Tolkien, Shakespeare, and Jane Austen can benefit, too, then so much the better. 10 Books Every Conservative Must Read, as its author states at the beginning, is not a definitive list of conservative books or THE books conservatives should read, but it is a very good list.

The ten books are:
Aristotle's Politics
Orthodoxy, by G.K. Chesterton
The New Science of Politics, by Eric Voegelin
The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis
Reflections on the Revolution in France, by Edmund Burke
Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville
The Federalist Papers
The Anti-Federalists
The Servile State, by Hilaire Belloc
The Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek

And the four not to be missed (and one impostor) are:
The Tempest, by William Shakespeare
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Jerusalem Bible
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand

The thing that struck me most is the internal consistency of Wiker's selections. All of these books highlight some facet of the central conservative beliefs that 1) human beings are flawed and 2) all government should be structured accordingly. Wiker finds support for this thesis in Aristotle, who goes on to describe both good and bad kinds of government; in Lewis, who also writes about the wishy-washyness of the modern intelligentsia; in Belloc and Hayek, who describe the terrible consequences of assuming human perfectibility; in Shakespeare, whose Tempest is an illustration of Aristotle's different kinds of government and the tendencies of each toward either good or evil; in Austen, who affirms tradition and dramatizes the follow-your-heart tendencies of the left--and their inevitably catastrophic results; and in Tolkien, at the heart of whose story lies a local populace fighting for self-government over tyranny.

If there's a weak section of Wiker's book, it's in the chapters on the Federalist Papers and the writings of the Anti-Federalists. Despite a thorough reading and checking back repeatedly, I'm still unsure of what he was trying to argue. It seemed that, especially in the section on the Federalist, he spent more time contextualizing the centralizing tendencies of the Federalists than explaining what is distinctly conservative about their positions.

I think, for me, the best section of the book was that dethroning Ayn Rand as a conservative heroine. I've always found Rand creepy and not-quite-conservative, but could never entirely explain why. Wiker carefully takes apart Rand's personal beliefs--which she repeatedly asserted could not be separated from her philosophy and politics--and shows that, far from being a conservative or libertarian, she essentially aimed at an immoral oligarchy of Nietzschean supermen. Might made right, an un-conservative position if there ever was one. (Rand was also psychologically disturbed and indulged in rather icky relationships with her strapping young disciples.)

Overall, Wiker's book was not an earth-shattering read for me--I had already read many of these books--but it was worth reading to see ideas connecting great modern writers with the ancient past, and, in the case of those books I haven't read, to look forward to more reading in the future.

Recommended.

This is the first Wiker book I've read, and I'm hooked. Clarity, logic, and a refusal to be cowed by "conventional wisdom" from academia are the foundations of this book. I am giving copies to my own college-bound children, friends, and saving a few copies for myself. It is a great way to learn about some great thinkers, plus it helped remind me what I'd learned in college--and how I should re-apply this timeless wisdom in this hectic world of soundbites and emotionalism-as-thinking that is our modern media. I need to get his 10 Books that Screwed up the World to give me a quick overview of the bad ones, too. This is the 11th book every thinking person (conservative or not) must read.

Sound the alarm! Ayn Rand has been removed from her pedestal!

Can I get an "alleluia," brothers?

Don't ya just love Ben Wiker? He doesn't just cut through the malarkey; he leads the way, cleaving through it with his literary machete, leaving all the overgrowth to the side.

"10 Books Every Conservative Must Read" is an important book on many levels, not the least of which is the frenzied need at this time in history for Wiker's crystal-clear logic, and flat-out wisdom. Nobody has the kind of insight Wiker has when it comes to history, literature and the political and cultural landscape of our day.

Beginning with his objective and authentic analysis of Aristotle's "The Politics;" Wiker brings us on a journey, in some cases familiar, in some cases delightfully surprising, through works and authors that - even if they're our long-time favorites (for me, Chesterton, Belloc, Austen, Tolkein) - end up beckoning us to pay them a visit sometime... sooner rather than later. Because, as Wiker says, "Conservatism is not blind acceptance, but careful consideration, and that includes reconsideration."

And, really, at the crux of his book, Wiker is calling on conservatives to connect the dots between these, and other, great works which have helped to influence and form what true conservatism is. To paraphrase Professor Wiker, as conservatives, we cannot and must not waiver from an insistence on concrete and objective truth. We must always defend life's immutable truths, and avoid the liberal tendency towards abstract theories, which are the underpinnings of moral ambiguity. Once again, with his current book, Ben Wiker proves himself a master at translating yesterday's wisdom into today's reality.

"10 Books Every Conservative Must Read?" This makes it 11.

This is one of the best overviews of conservatism I have ever read. It is fantastic, because it is not about modern politics and name-calling that are often heard, but the deep traditions that has formed the core of conservatism from Aristotle onward. A perfect book for someone who is a conservative, but never found the unifying threads that held it all together. Also great for any liberal who wants to understand what it is that conservatives are all about.

Walking through a bookstore a few years ago, a book titled "Ten Books That Screwed Up The World" caught my eye. I had never heard of the author, Dr. Benjamin Wiker, but decided to take a chance on him anyway. What I discovered was an academic who could write as few academics can--clearly, cleverly, and with no small measure of wit. "Ten Books That Screwed Up the World" was a romp through history's baddies, but with an eye toward the future and where such books and their philosophies have too often taken us.

In "Ten Books Every Conservative Must Read", Wiker is back with another "Ten Books" installment and he does not disappoint. This time, we consider the opposite side of the question: what are the books that have positively influenced the public mind? Wiker's choices may surprise you, but he makes a compelling case for each; offering more than a summary of the books in question, he analyzes their ramifications and gives us something of the backstory. As is his gift, this is one of those books that makes us feel smarter for the experience. I highly recommend this and other Benjamin Wiker books.

The fare served up in this book is almost too rich for right after Christmas. Fortunately, Wiker includes a couple boring chapters on "the dismal science," so that golden names like Aristotle, Austin, Burke, Chesterton, Shakespeare, and Tolkien don't stuff you too full.

At first, I didn't want to give the book five stars. For one thing, it's probably not a good habit to cannibalize great books for partisan politics -- like burning the oak joyce in an old Victorian home to cook hotdogs. Wiker's language of "conservative" and "liberal" is too Manichean, too Limbaughean, for rich truths (and corresponding errors) that are not the exclusive property of either side in the political divide. Wiker engages in some cutting of arms and legs to fit subjects into their beds. As a conservative myself, I find it a bit overdone.

Also, as a Christian (whose own books defend Christianity -- most recently Truth Behind the New Atheism), I think Wiker needs to separate healthy politics and faith more cleanly. Lots of serious Christians are sincere liberals. Lots of conservatives belong to other religions. (One of Confucius' disciples invented Supply Side Economics about 500 BC!)

In a few cases, Wiker scared me away from the book he was praising. While no doubt edifying, the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers sound like the kind of books Americans OUGHT to read in high school. I wish I had; I don't want to do it now.

But most of Wiker's choices are really good. Some reviewers are offended that Wiker praised Aristotle, who praised slavery. But I found the quotes Wiker cited so apropos, that I printed out the chapter from Politics and quoted them in my dissertation, in a section on reform in China. (Of course Wiker knows that the Christian tradition he praises ended slavery -- that reviewer should read Rodney Stark's For the Glory of God.)

Another reviewer complains that Tolkien's heroes were white! Imagine that -- a Medievalist in 1930s England failing to anticipate 21st Century political correctness! Such criticisms show the value of this book, for those with open minds . . . How refreshing these great thinkers are, by contrast to such small-minded cant. (One of them, C. S. Lewis, pointed out that every age has its dominant vices and virtues. The reason we read the past is not because we naively think everything was better in some Golden Age, but because past virtues shed light on our vices -- we can learn from great thinkers in other eras, even if they had their own peculiar flaws. But I don't think that's in Abolition of Man -- you really have to read more than the books Wiker recommends, for a lot of these guys and gals.)

Orthodoxy has long been a favorite of mine, and (one reviewer's sneer to the contrary) deeply influential. (See my article in Books and Culture, "How the Brothers Grimm Overthrew the Evil Empire.")

Reflections on the Revolution in France is "prophetic:" many of Burke's words sound like a succinct criticism of Marxism.

One of the best parts of Abolition of Man, which I don't think Wiker mentions, is the appendix, where Lewis quotes teachers from cultures around the world that echo what he calls the "Tao." This somewhat offset's Wiker's own rather provincial take on conservatism.

I found Wiker's discussion of Lord of the Rings interesting, despite (because?) all the times I've read it. He emphasizes Samwise Gangee as the subaltern of the Great War (C. S. Lewis describes a similiar relationship with his seargant in Surprised By Joy.) But it seems a bit of a crime to cut apart Ents to stoke even a warm fire.

I've never read (much of) the Tempest or Sense and Sensibility, but Wiker has convinced me I need to.

What tipped me to five stars, was Wiker's discussion of the Bible. Read it as a story, he urges. Grant it the grace to thrill you, before you don modern critical apparatus. Here, in a sense, he does the opposite as with some other books he describes, fighting reductionistic interpretations, rather than engagin in them. Cut the Bible as much slack as you would Tolkien, and you might be surprised by what you find.

The notion was especially interesting to me, because the philosopher I'm researching is trying something similiar: setting Jesus within the grand story of Chinese civilization, to reinterpret it. I think Wiker is on to something.

I was pleased to receive an advance review copy of this book and was even more pleased to discover the wealth of insights and information it contains. Dr. Benjamin Wiker's superb analysis of these pivotal books is thorough, probing, and honest. He elucidates the important, real-world implications of the political philosophies espoused in the works he surveys, showing why, to really understand authentic conservatism, one must be familiar with this literary canon. And I'm glad he included Ayn Rand's work in this lineup, albeit only as a conspicuous example of "conservative" imposture, for it seems that many today don't fully realize the egocentric world view she was actually advocating in "Atlas Shrugged." Wiker's analysis of her message is a welcome corrective.

-- Patrick Madrid, co-author of The Godless Delusion: A Catholic Challenge to Modern Atheism.

There is a difference between the conservatives who think and the conservatives who parrot. The company of the former is pleasant, and our intellectual discussions, while sometimes frustrating, always leaves me with something new. The company of the latter is obnoxious, and discussion of any idea is impossible. To the latter group, I recommend this book, and the reading of the ten recommendations, and the shunning of the imposter, so as to graduate them to the former. To others, I still recommend this. It at least forces one to be honest. Can we ask for anything more?

In the Obama years, many conservatives have turned to great books to become more grounded in their beliefs, to discover what great conservatives of the past thought, and to determine how the observations of those conservatives might be relevant to our present situation.

In this volume, Benjamin Wiker has given present-day conservatives help in that regard, providing a select group of titles that those on the Right should read, including books from the realms of political theory, economics, and literature. He provides a short biographical sketch of each author, and then writes a brief review of each book and shows how the books contribute to or reflect conservative thought.

Wiker also defines American conservatism--it does not automatically embrace any and every status quo, but conserves "a deeper and older wisdom, a perennial wisdom that isn't peculiar to America but deeply rooted in the nature of human beings." The author discusses two of the biggest threats to conservatism today--the transfer of power from local to centralized authorities and the desire on the part of many to trade liberty for security and a comfortable life provided by the government.

The author asserts that acceptance of evolution can lead to political liberalism, but, given the DNA and genetic evidence uncovered in the last decade that has established evolution as an incontrovertible fact, it will be important for conservatives to show how one can accept evolution and still be a strong conservative--great thinkers such as John Derbyshire and George Will have already shown the way.

Many conservatives have become enamored with the works of Ayn Rand in the last couple of years. Rand's works do have much merit, but there are significant differences between conservatism and Rand's Objectivism, and Wiker trenchantly points out those differences.

Wiker is to be commended for providing great synopses of books that today's conservatives will want to read and for encouraging them to dig deeper into conservatism's great stock of wisdom.

Considering the book's title: "10 Books Every Conservative Must Read," It's hard to see how it can receive a one star based on content. Dr. Wiker's intent is to remind conservatives, what it actually means to be conservative. He does so by illustrating four themes of conservatism: the nature of conservatism; American founding; economics; and the conservative imagination. He uses his chosen books to highlight and explain those themes.

Unless you disagree with Dr. Wiker's definition of conservatism, it's hard to imagine why you wouldn't rate this book high. Dr. Wiker is easy to read and his points are made effortlessly; a high achievement considering some of the texts he discusses are not very easy for the average reader. Dr. Wiker leaves the reader with the idea that he "must" read the books on his list (Wow, something the title promised).

After reading the 1 star reviews, it is obviously the people don't like the fact that: a) the author is conservative, b) he wrote a book titled: "10 Books That Screwed Up The World." Neither of these facts have anything to do with THIS book's merit. It boggles my mind why a liberal would buy this book in the first place, considering the title, and if he/she did anyway, how could the content be shocking?

The only controversial part of the book I see is his inclusion of Ayn Rand as an "imposter" conservative. Someone even made a review that people's personal lives should be kept out of their work, but Dr. Wiker makes a compelling argument that Ayn Rand celebrated her immoral behavior, which proves she didn't believe in conservative morality. Her book, "Atlas Shrugged" is a self-proclaimed guidebook to Rand's personal philosophy.

Other than that, a self-proclaimed "atheist conservative" may be inclined to give the book a negative review because Dr. Wiker does imply "true conservatism" relies on a belief in a supreme being. Even then the atheist could appreciate the well formulated argument Dr. Wiker makes to support this point of view.

Overall, a very well crafted book.