The Things That Matter Most [Paperback]

Cal Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

In this controversial and thought-provoking bestseller, one of America's most widely-read syndicated columnists explains how we have lost sight of the things that matter most. "Thomas brings insight and good cheer to the important intellectual battles of the age."--William J. Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A blustery foreword by Rush Limbaugh sets the tone for this collection of articles by syndicated columnist Thomas, who considers liberalism the greatest threat to contemporary America and condemns homosexuals, popular music and the "cultural, media and academic elites." Thomas's rhetoric makes his partisan views sound more populist than political: "Common sense" is a litany in these columns, and for Thomas "a little censorship," school prayer and the GOP make sense, while welfare, sex education and abortion do not. Baby boomers come under particular attack for "their relentless pursuit of social anarchy." Thomas shows no patience for those who, in his opinion, use their freedom of expression improperly, among them the ACLU and network television. Thomas's prose is blunt, his arguments visceral rather than reasoned. Accordingly, only on his terms and through his conception of American society might this book be considered anything but dogmatism. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; Conservative Book Club dual main selection; Doubleday Book Club alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Syndicated columnist and radio commentator Thomas delivers a message on the principal values that Americans should follow. Religion, hard work, low taxes, and a return to the ethics of earlier times are his priorities. Unfortunately, Thomas's analysis is merely bitter and self-righteous. His solutions to serious social problems are embarrassingly obtuse, and his reading is typical soapbox bombast. Librarians seeking conservative political commentary in the audio format will have no difficulty finding more engaging and intellectual works. Not recommended.
Ray Vignovich, West Des Moines P.L., Ia.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Perennial (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060926376
• ISBN-13: 978-0060926373
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,442,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A conservative stalwart unabashedly fires away, July 4, 2001

By 

Roger Edwards (Norman, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Things That Matter Most (Hardcover)

One would imagine a heavy dose of rightward-leaning reasoning from Cal Thomas; and this definitely meets or exceeds expectations! Thomas' writing style is engaging, sensible, combative and logical all at once. This book as a whole is best described as an intelligent pep rally for conservative readers. Thomas tends to brandish common sense as a big, blunt hammer, as he covers topics ranging from divorce to free speech to promiscuity to abortion. I found this style refreshing; but its occasionally polemic tone is sure to anger the left-leaning reader. His humor is also much more prevalent in his columns than in this book. Some of the authors' views (e.g., on evolution and flag burning) are too far to the right even for me; and I am a card-carrying Republican National Committee member. Still, liberals can appreciate this book, as evident in the back cover quote from left-wing icon Edward Kennedy: "Cal Thomas usually says the far right thing instead of the right thing, but I like reading him anyway."

The book could have benefited greatly from more logical organization. Its chapter subjects appear randomly scattered, giving the reader good break-off points but little or no transition from one to another. However, almost every chapter topic can be used to illustrate one of these two themes:

===== 1) The left's tendency to try to solve problems by throwing money at them, and

===== 2) A massive ethical tranformation in popular society from individual responsibility to self-indulgence -- the true core of almost every problem we face.

Though the book is several years old and out of print by now, its opinions and laments still ring familiar, for so many of his ideological targets remain disturbingly prominent.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Things" Shows Thomas' Moral Medicine Better In Daily Doses, April 29, 2001

By 

Anthony G Pizza "trivialtony" (FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Things That Matter Most (Paperback)

Cal Thomas has mixed heartfelt personal faith with conservative political beliefs to move from NBC copyboy to CNBC talk show host, from lieutenant in Dr. Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority to nationally syndicated columnist. 1994's "The Things That Matter Most," named for a influential sermon and now out of print, was his heartfelt but unsuccessful attempt to galvanize a audience turning books by conservative celebrities William Bennett (who endorsed this book) and Rush Limbaugh (who wrote its forward) into national best-sellers.

Thomas writes sincerely over 219 pages but expresses little of the wit making his columns a must-read. He aims at too many targets with too many words, all familiar. He attacks education (a multicultural, nonsexist agenda emphasizing fairness over excellence), the arts (sacriligious paintings, films, TV, and music which Thomas sees promoting "an increasingly nihilistic world view"), high taxes funding activist government (villains include President and Mrs. Clinton in their first, most liberal years in office).

Above all, Thomas berates and builds his book around a 60s generation promising Eden rebuilt as flexible, materialistic, permissive paradise but delivering crime, drugs, divorce, despair, and death. Thomas condemns author/publishers Hugh Hefner, "female Hefner" Helen Gurley Brown, Carl Sagan, and Dr. Jack Kevorkian as gods of this false paradise. Woodstock-era song titles and lyrics ironically crop up throughout Thomas' chapters, broken into 2-4 page, easy-to-read segments.

Thomas' researched "Matter Most" for more than a year but failed to put his extensive quotes in context. His section, "The Founding Fathers And Taxes" glues historical anti-tax, anti-big government quotes with pithy comments; Thomas would have better juxtaposed those opinions against Johnson's "Great Society" and Bill Clinton's attempted revival in his 1993 budget. Entertainment was another missed opportunity; Thomas attacked the lyrics of Pink Floyd and "band from Hell" Guns N' Roses when he could have dissected their cries for shelter and order ("Oh, won't you please take me home?" "We don't need no thought control," "Where do we go, where do we go now?") making their pleas plead his case.

Thomas writes best on moral issues, consistent with his belief in lasting change stemming from within. Chapter 7 eloquently condemns worldwide death culture: abortion, euthanasia, attitudes toward the mentally challenged which concievably could include Thomas' handicapped brother Marshall. Chapter 5, "The Promise of God's Death," discusses how God as concept, not even as active life force, has been removed from public discourse as source for morality within law, as ultimate example of love, compassion, and sacrifice, and as judge of life's value. Thomas gladly enlists disparate celebrities like Norman Lear and Shirley McLaine in the drive to return spirituality to America's forefront.

"The Things That Matter Most" surrounds its timeless truths with old headlines, with too much under the bridge (Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America," Clinton's re-election, the rise of George W. Bush) to justify its reprint. Thus Thomas, a needed voice in American political conversation with another book due this summer, is more effective commenting amid the daily headline trenches rather than in longer, more derivative attempts like this.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Audio version - read by Cal Thomas, December 4, 2000

By 

Kelly Dillman (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Things That Matter Most (Hardcover)

I'm shocked that this book is OOP! It can't be very old, considering that Thomas talks quite a bit about the Clinton administration.

The audio book version is very good. Cal Thomas reads it himself; he has a nice, steady, expressive voice which makes listening very easy. The book covers many intertwining social and political issues, from the abandonment of original Constitutional issues (no prayer in public schools because of "freedom of religion") to the effects of the 1960's culture on current politics (namely, Clinton)! Cal Thomas is very conservative, very opininated, but never "mean-spirited" - read at your own risk!