This important collection of short essays takes the reader beyond general reporting of current events to their historical, political and philosophical associations. Each essay can be read quickly but gives a strategic clarification of the topic under consideration. They cover culture, religion, family, politics and science. The author has a comfortable grasp of history and uses this resource to cheerfully counteract the manipulative distortion that liberalism cloaks over today’s important issues.
The author, William D. Gairdner, PhD., is a former Olympic athlete, a professor of English, and the best-selling author of seven books, including The Trouble with Canada, The Trouble with Democracy and the indispensable War Against the Family. He was the managing editor of Canada’s Founding Debates, a collection of early political speeches on the founding of Canada.
The section of the book on Politics and Law provides valuable information in the essays Despotism and the French Revolution, Six Types of Freedom, In Defense of Capital Punishment, and Socialism: The Ultimate Conservatism. Other essays provide revealing observations on Pierre Trudeau, Michael Ignatieff, Bob Rae and Stephen Harper.
Two essays are “in a nutshell” studies of global warming and the natural law, another reveals little known facts about the slave trade in Canada, and one entitled Homeless or Family-less addresses this disturbing urban phenomenon. Recently popularized public apologies are exposed. The essay Sticks and Stones deals with the numbers of victims murdered by various totalitarian regimes.
And how about the “marauding tax-hungry state”, the “political sandwich” and “egalitarian hogswill”? “Must read” essays include The Charter at Twenty-Five, There Can be No Sex in Homosexual, Mourning Marriage and Restoring the Pro-Family State. Well written and original, these essays never fail to be timely and perceptive.
An antidote against invasive liberal misinformation, this book is a good buy, for personal enjoyment or as a gift for friends who would benefit from a lively introduction to the wide world of conservative thought.
William Gairdner has another book due in the fall of 2008 entitled The Book of Absolutes. It promises to be another thought provoking publication which promotes conservatism and helps Canadians sharpen their defenses against the debilitating disinformation which surrounds us.
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