Book for a hardcore left-liberal?

myself | 12/1/2003 | oblomov

[oblomov]

I have a friend who is a hardcore left-liberal. Looking to buy a book that will not convert him, but which might open his mind a little to other political possibilities.

Let's be honest, the latest screed by Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity is not likely to be read, or enjoyed by him.

It needs to be much more subtle, something that appeals to the native idealism of a liberal sort, but with an ultimately conservative/libertarian conclusion.

Any suggestions?

[DC native]

I know I'm going off on a tangent, but I'm more fascinated by the fact that you are able to have a Leftie friend at all. I've tried to ignore it in family and friends and have not been able to do so. I find that it permeates their outlook on everything and drives their every action, keeping us at a distance. It is so difficult to respect their intelligence. I guess you're a better man than I am (even though I'm female, heh.)

[2banana]

1984 and Animal Farm

[OXENinFLA]

http://www.dianeravitch.com/

Diane Ravitch, The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, May 2003)

[BADROTOFINGER]

The Horowitz, Sowell, and D'Souza books mentioned are all great, but if you think that this person can handle a very serious (i.e. deep intellectual/college level) read, I would recommend Dinesh D'Souza's The End Of Racism. Absolutely fantastic, and not at all a partisan read, unless this guy is another Jesse Jackson. But it definately isnt light reading...JFK

[oblomov]

Maybe it's age and maturity.

I'm 35.

He's 41, a successful MD with his own practice, no family.

I recently got engaged, but we have many friends in common.

We both enjoy trading stocks and other financial instruments, so we can always talk about that.

[stiga bey]

My first thought was also "Radical Son," but I tried to convert someone with that book once, and she practically hissed at me when I put the book in front of her. Horowitz's name has been so thoroughly thrashed by the left that even moderate leftists associate him with Nazis and the Klan. Reality, of course, doesn't enter into it.

I recommend PJ O'Rourke's "All the Troubles in the World," a book that started me down the path to conservatism. Rather than talking outright politics or assassinating specific public figures, it takes on some of the darling causes of the left like ecology and points out how the progressive solutions are miserably counter-productive to the professed goals. It's absolutely hilarious, and filled with useful facts. I love the reaction I get from lefties when I tell them with a straight face that I don't recycle because it's bad for the environment.

[xJones]

Cheer your friend up, get him The Black Book of Communism: A "must" read for liberals.