Book Recommendation: Liberty and Tyranny

If you happen to glance over the New York Times Bestseller List (or practically any other bestseller list, for that matter) you will see the Hardcover Non-Fiction list dominated by conservative books almost all the time. Granted, you will see the occasional Al Franken or Bill Clinton polemic, but for the most part, in the last 15 to 20 years, these lists are dominated by Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Dick Morris, Bernie Goldberg and Michelle Malkin. One of the latest of these bestselling tomes is also perhaps one of the most important: Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin.

Levin is a radio talk-show host and his previous best-selling book was Men in Black: How the Supreme Court is Destroying America. His latest book seeks to define and frame the argument of left vs. right, Democrat vs. Republican, in a new style and with some new terminology. He starts out by proclaiming that "There is simply no scientific or mathematical formula that defines conservatism." He claims no "new theories" but wants to clarify where he stands, where he believes our founding fathers would have us stand, and how we can get there.

The book is loaded with personal observations and discussions of philosophies of our founding fathers and those whom they took their philosophies from (Adam Smith, John Locke, etc.). There is a continuing compare-and-contrast between the forces that would uphold the founding fathers' beliefs ("the Conservative") and those who would tear them down ("the Statist"). Indeed, Levin can be rightly credited with re-introducing the term Statist into the popular vocabulary, especially as he has sold over 1 million copies of this book to date.

Chapters deal with immigration policy, enviromentalism, federalism, welfare, and the true meaning of "free markets." And wrapping it all up is a manifesto of sorts: an arrow pointing the way out of the mess our country is currently wrapped up in. Levin offers guiding principles for taxation, environmental concerns, judges, education, immigration, and other pressing issues. As he promises, there is really nothing new here; rather, this is a concise and cogent argument for the Constitution of these United States of America. Well worth reading...and reading again...and sharing with friends and family.