Stanford Books & Reviews

The Beginning of Economic Wisdom

Two primers on economics reveal a lingering philosophical divide in the intellectual imagination of our time.

Money and Power: Pondering Economic Growth and Decline

A trio of books proposes intriguing reasons for economic growth--national pride, surplus labor and investment security--but none parses the novelty of the virtual state.

Indochina Without Americans

Finally, a much-needed study of the other Vietnam War.

Rude Awakening

Fouad Ajami's new book argues that the Arabs have defeated themselves by a blind adherence to anachronistic ideologies of self-glorification, both nationalist and Islamist.

Not-So-Innocents Abroad

Gilles Kepel's internationally respected expertise in Islamic matters simply does not extend to their infusion within Western politics and society.

The Nature of the Beast

Review of Walter Laqueur's Fascism: Past, Present Future (New York, Oxford University Press, 1996); Roger Eatwell's Fascism: A History (New York: Allen Lane, 1996).

The New Cold War Debate

Nations, like people, view their past through emotional and psychological prisms. The normal course is for national history to become heroic myth--a saga of obstacles overcome, evil vanquished, national character triumphant.

The Future of Equality

Thomas Sowell's Race and Culture provides ample documentation as to the importance of culture as a component of human capital, one that is critical in determining individual and national performance. In his usual feisty way, Sowell is eager to deb

Beyond Bolivar

Just why is Latin America the way it is? Indeed why is it not like anywhere else? The questions are addressed by three Latin American authors.

Gauche and Sinister; Review of Olivier Bernier, Firework at Dusk: Paris in the Thirties...

This consciousness of cultural mission affected French writers, giving them a comforting idea of their own importance. For their message was not restricted to purely aesthetic impressions.

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May 26, 2012