Customer Reviews

The Ten Things You Can't Say In America, Revised Edition

5 star:		(119)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Larry Elder is a courageous individual, a black man who challenges the Democrat/left establishment of Jesse Jackson, Maxine Waters et al. on his radio program, in print and as a guest on numerous TV talk shows. Elder points out the irony that many so called black leaders who tell us that affirmative action is still needed in employment and education and that racism is holding black people down are themselves individuals who obtained success by working hard and staying focused. Elder echoes self help guru Tony Robbins', who tells us that if you want to succeed in life, study successful people and do the same things that they did to achieve success. Instead, Elder laments that too many black Americans are poisoned by rhetoric that tells them the deck is stacked against them. Elder provides an interesting personal anecdote in his meeting with a black computer consultant in a gym locker room. The consultant complained that his client base was cities that had black mayors. When Elder told him that he was a recruiter for law firms and corporations, the consultant assumed that he specialized in minority attorneys and was surprised that Elder had white clients. The black consultant assumed that he could never succeed in marketing his services to whites and therefore never tried. His limitations were self imposed.

But The Ten Things You Can't Say is not just a black libertarian/conservative's view on racial issues. Elder covers a variety of topics such as gun control, welfare, health care and the War on Drugs. The chapter on the so called health care crisis was especially good, with Elder ably pointing out how the AMA is artificially restricting the supply of doctors and the ludicrousness of regulations that prevent nurses and other medical paraprofessionals from doing tasks that they know how to do, thus raising the cost of health care. This is also the first book I ever read which called the Marshall Plan's success a myth.

The Ten Things You Can't Say is a quick read, largely because Elder writes like he talks and uses simple down to earth language to get his points across. When reading this book, I couldn't help but hear his voice in my head. This book is bound to offend doctrinaire liberals, who will probably retort by saying something like "In Elder's world, there is no racism and sexism. It is all our imagination." If you have an open mind on the topics covered by Elder, this book will challenge your assumptions. The closed minded will prefer to keep this book...well...closed.

My only quibble with this book is that Elder's editor missed a few typos. On page 119, district attorney's is compressed into one word "distrtorney's" and on pg. 247 Congressman George Miller is referred to as "Democratic California republican George Miller" rather than "Democratic California congressman George Miller". I also believe that Sher Hosonko, who he refers to on pg. 266 is really Sher Horosko. Hopefully the paperback edition of this book will correct these mistakes.

Larry Elder is not called the "sage of south central" for nothing. If every American would open their minds instead of letting media and political bias sway their decisions we would have a new country inside of a month. In this book, Larry Elder shows in a very convincing and forthright way that although we live in the the country with the most freedom, we are relying more and more on a government which has no interest at all in seeing us free, and in many cases, seeks to enslave us and make us dependent.

This book is a real eye-opener and will have you thinking hard for some time after you read it. Some parts, particularly the chapter on legalization of drugs and how our "drug war" has failed will surely raise controversy and that is a good thing. Americans need to think and rethink their positions on issues instead of allowing those with their own vested interests to make up their minds for them.

If you believe that you can run your own life and affairs and that the money you make should remain in your own hands and that it is arrogance in the least and tyranny in the most for a government to tell you otherwise or make decisions about your life without your consent, then this book is for you. Larry Elder presents the evidence that we as Americans have been duped and conned into believing things that just aren't true.

This is a book well worth the money and you can't walk away from it without being challenged, enlightened, and informed.

I never heard this radio talk show host. This is the first time I have read his words or reviewed his work. He makes Joan Rivers' dialogues and Bill O'Reilly's opinions seem as fluffy and soft as cotton candy. Dynamic, terse, over flowing with facts, Larry Elder invites debate. Among the issues, the "things you can't say in America", that he dares to explore are racism, drugs, the glass ceiling,politics and the destructive media. If you read this book, you're in for a very different perspective. Underneath the searing glass of this authors microscope are Orrin Hatch, Ted Kennedy, Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Gloria Allred, Dick Morris, The Los Angeles Times, Spider-Man Comics, Johnnie Cochran, O.J. Simpson, Al Gore, George Bush, Ross Perot, welfare, NAFTA, Sister Connie Driscoll and her partner, Sister Theresa O'Sullivan, just to mention a few. After a surprised gasp at this author's outrageous audacity, you will probably laugh then enter the debate. The book awakens your sense of inquiry and zeal for answers to the issues of today. Move over Joan and Bill, Larry Elders is on the move. Amusing and entertaining.

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This is a book that is much needed to provide the proper perspective for so many hot issues in today's political climate.

Society has come to accept a number of assumptions, which become the basis of discussion for these hot issues. Many of these assumptions are erroneous, and the result is that the discussions are destined to produce results that are not relevant or useful.

Larry Elder has a genius for challenging and exploding some of these underlying assumptions.

Examples:

Why discuss white racism, when black racism is not acknowledged or even allowed to be entered into the discussion?

Why discuss the "glass ceiling" for women, when the issue of preparation and "paying of dues" is not a part of the discussion?

Why discuss gun control when the positive effects of an armed populace are not recognized in terms of preventing crime, and lowering crime rates?

Elder has a genius for stating his points, and making them clear in a way that is easy to read. His writing is never convoluted or hard to follow. (And actually very hard to argue against.)

Elder has a genius for picking the most important topics and related points that need to be made - at the present time - as far as their overall impact on society.

Elder has a genius for cutting through the emotional arguments that grab so many individuals on a superficial level, but which do not stand up to intellectual and objective scrutiny.

The serious and objective seeker of what should be accepted as given and true, cannot afford to miss reading this book!

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As a libertarian I was thrilled to find this book. Months ago I couldn't have even told you who Larry Elder is. The radio stations in my neck of the woods do not carry Elder's program so I didn't know anything about Elder when I bought this book. I read the blurb, thought it sounded interesting and read it with an open mind. I wasn't prepared to agree with 99 if not 100 percent of what I read but that's what happened. But as a caveat let me again reiterate that this book is NOT for anyone with a closed mind. If you are so entrenched in certain religious and/or political beliefs that you cannot read someone else's ideas without becoming enraged then do not even waste your money. For those of you with more maturity, this is a great buy.

Elder's 10 contentions are simple but loaded: Blacks are more racist than whites, white condescension is as bad as black racism, the media bias is real, widespread and destructive, the glass ceiling is full of holes, America's greatest problem is illegitimacy, there is no health-care crisis, America's welfare state is tyranny of the statist quo, there's maybe a dime's worth of difference between Republicans and Democrats, the war on drugs is a losing battle and gun control advocates are good guys with blood on their hands. I can just see many of you reading this and gasping with horror at those statements. But before you condemn Elder as someone who loathes himself, acts white, subscribes to radical political ideas and/or has no sense of practicality, look closer. How many times during, say, one week can you turn on your TV and see one of the "victicrats" Elder describes crying about some evil he/she faced and how the government *owes* it to everyone to write a law about said evil? How many news reports can you hear of celebrities with drug problems and the status of America's war on drugs? In response the media will talk to Republicans and Democrats about their reactions and, at the end of the day, there will be little difference in the answers they give. And if you turn on even one talk show during the day you will see paternity tests being administered on behalf of women who don't even know for sure who the fathers of their babies are! Yes, illegitimacy is a big problem in America but will you ever hear a politically correct talk show host say so? Of course not. They will blame promiscuity on low self-esteem and poverty instead of telling the truth-- people just don't want to take responsibility for themselves anymore. This extends to our failing war on drugs. People would rather believe that the government ought to fight the drug war because it's "right" or because they don't think crackheads will work at legitimate jobs to buy drugs or they think that drug use will reach epidemic levels if drugs are legalized or they think that the streets won't be safe. Reality check, folks-- drugs are illegal and we have problems with gang and street violence now. As Elder points out, alcohol consumption actually fell after Prohibition ended and, to quote Ben Franklin as Elder does, "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."

Amen.

This guy is refreshing to hear on the radio, (KABC 790 in Los Angeles) and this book is an equally refreshing treatment of the things that are observable in everyday life, all backed up by facts. And not just dry statistics, but daily stuff that is pragmatic, and recognizable as true. The liberal media bias is layed out well, with plenty of citations. Gun control? Ever notice that the 'defensive use of weapons in warding off a crime' statistics are never reported? The data would go against the agenda... The glass ceiling? Women aren't paid equal pay for equal work? Elder offers the perfect proof that it's not true: If it were, in our market system, all kinds of enterprising entrepreneurs would be hiring all women, and would have a huge competitive edge with cheap payroll, wouldn't they! It ain't happening... I wonder why? Want to be entertained, while having a few revelations? Read this book!

Larry Elder uses facts to refute and many times embarass those who focus on descrimination as the primary reason for "holding back" members of minorty groups.

Mr. Elder's incisive and brutally honest points ring true from both a factual and logical basis. It would be my guess that the very people Elder challanges in his book also secretly agree with his positions -- although they would never agree publically.

This book not only eloquently argues the other side ignored by the mass media, it also provides cathartic relief for those who simply have had enough of the status quo.

Bravo for Mr. Elder in having the intellectual temerity to lay-out the facts and to tell the truth. This world would be a far better place to live if mainstream politicians and civic leaders pocessed his courage and honesty.

Thank you, Mr. Elder.

1. Elder's use of examples to support his positions -- his chapter on "media bias" has more than a dozen excellent examples which prove the true colors of influential, high-profile media members.

2. Elder's attack on Republicans who "talk the talk" of small government, but fail to "walk the walk."

3. His criticism that many whites are too cowardly to criticize counterproductive behaviors among blacks, behaviors the same people would not tolerate among members of their own family or peer group. Hypocricy and double standards are repeatedly identified and ridiculed.

4. Numerous commonly held assumptions are shown to be bogus and/or critically unexamined; contrarian viewpoints are too often underreported.

5. The historical evolution of how we reached our politically incorrect, "government-is-always-the-best-answer" political and social climate is often traced and explained.

6. The book is well-written, easy to read, hard to put down.

7. The author clearly shows why and how the "victicrat" mentality and rhetoric harms the very people its proponents supposedly want to help.

8. Elder's identification of illegitimacy and lack of fathers in a staggering percentage of black households (and an alarming percentage of all households) as THE No. 1 problem in America. 9. The book's celebration of "common sense" reforms and its understanding that "old-fashioned," and time-tested values of hard work, perserverance and personal responsibility are the best cure for what ails our society. 10. That so much of what Elder says in his book is considered controversial and heartless by liberals is reason to frown. On the other hand, the fact so many people have purchased this book and endorse its common-sense message is reason to smile and (to borrow a phrase from Elder's philosophical opposite, Jesse Jackson), to "keep hope alive!"

Larry Elder's Ten Things You Can't Say in America is probably the best book I've read in years. From the Opening Chapter on Blacks and Racism to the final discussion of the fallacy of Gun Control, Mr. Elder is on the offensive against every special interest from the Liberal Media to Femenists. His book is witty and insightful and Long Overdue.

Having said this I feel the reader must be made aware of the fact that the Sage from South Central backs his views up with facts. He uses quotes by people like Spike Lee (amongst others) to back up his argument that blacks are more racist than whites. He uses statistical figures to prove Gun Control does not work and will not solve the problem of violence in American Society. He uses independant figures to prove the media is not only biased but that this bias is destructive.

I have to say that by the end of this book I was certainly onboard with Mr. Elder and his ideas (i already agreed with most of them but not all). The best thing about Larry Elder is the fact that he not only points out a problem, but provides us with a soloution. If you read no other social commentary this year, read this one.

I am a caucasion, 33-year old, female who teaches in the same district where Barry Grunow was allegedly(?) shot and killed by Nathaniel Brazill. Of course, O.J.'s black attorney (not to mention Al Sharpton) are ready to defend this poor, black youngster. Hey, they are even trying to lessen the sentence for a black boy who "wrestled" a 6-year old girl to death. Give me a break!

After tutoring a client of mine, who happens to be black, I saw Mr. Elder's book. It grabbed my eye. "Was I reading right?" I thought to myself. Could this BLACK MAN be saying racism of whites towards black is dead? Could he actually be saying blacks have to be accountable for their own lives? He is actually claiming that O.J. did it??? I checked it out, took it home and couldn't put it down. I've had black friends throughout my life who echo what he says in his book. While I may not agree with him 100%, the majority of what he says lies with the truth.

I now teach in a "racially balanced" school. Prior to that I taught in a primarily black school for three years. After three years I was burned out and had had it. Did I leave because of the color of their skin? No, I left because of the color of their attitude. I got tired of being called a white cracker or honky, my body ached from having objects thrown at me and my toes hurt because a guardian (parents don't exist alot in that area) dropped a bookbag full of hardback textbooks on my foot screaming I "made her baby carry all these books" when I instructed her to only take two home. I got tired of the lack of parental/guardian involvement, parents/guardians not showing up for conferences, never getting homework returned and having to spend 70% of my time trying to get these children under control who came to us with never having been taught respect for people of all colors. They also came to us with very limited vocabulary-many had never even seen a book. I won't even go into the black teachers who tried to begin altercations with white teachers. "High school or middle school?" you ask. "Special school?" Nope, I taught 2nd and 3rd grade. A black friend of mine who was raised in this area said something to me that opened my eyes: the parents/guardians tell the children they don't have to listen to "those" white teachers and they tell the black teachers to "punish" them if they need too (corporal punishment is illegal here but appears to exist for "some" educators). I saw children arrive with new, gorgeous clothing but were on free lunch (ironically, many of them could afford to buy 1-2 ice creams a day-50 cents to a dollar's worth). Their parents drove brand new vehicles. I prayed mine would make the drive.

Mr. Elder appears to see things the way I do: affirmative action is a put-down for all minorities and, in my opinion, is racism-reversed, welfare hurts rather than helps, black parents need to be more accountable for their children (they can afford the nice nails and hair-dos but can't get extra help for their kids-some won't even involve themselves even if it's free!!), people don't walk on the other side of the street when they see a young black man because he's black-but because of the statistics showing he's more apt to hurt them then say, an older black man. I avoid a local grocery store not because the cashiers are black, but because they are unfriendly, can't do their job accurately and are downright rude.

Having worked in an area where the race in public schools is primarily black gave me good cause to become less tolerant. I didn't start out that way. I saw alot of nastiness, white-hatred, poor-mouthing and high crime. I got out and have never regretted it since.

If you can handle the truth, read this book. It put things into perspective. To end, all I can do is thank the author of this book for having the bravo to be honest. I'm sure "his people", or, at least some of them, will call him an "Uncle Tom." I call him a man.