Featured Conservative Authors
Conservative Book Zone
Conservative Classics
General Market Books
Shop our bookstore where you will find books for each conservative topic you are looking for!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Liberty And Tyranny
| Our Price |
$ 19.50
|
|
| Retail Value |
$ 25.00 |
|
| You Save |
$ 5.50 (22%) |
|
| Item Number |
571940 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Item Description...
Overview
A nationally syndicated talk radio host presents a volume of essays for conservative leaders that recommends specific approaches to such issues as immigration, health care, and foreign policy.
Publishers Description
Conservative talk radio's fastest-growing superstar is also a New York Times bestselling phenomenon: the author of the groundbreaking critique of the Supreme Court, Men in Black, and the deeply personal dog lover's memoir Rescuing Sprite, Mark R. Levin now delivers the book that characterizes both his devotion to his more than 5 million listeners and his love of our country and the legacy of our Founding Fathers: Liberty and Tyranny is Mark R. Levin's clarion call to conservative America, a new manifesto for the conservative movement for the 21st century.In the face of the modern liberal assault on Constitution-based values, an attack that has steadily snowballed since President Roosevelt's New Deal of the 1930s and resulted in a federal government that is a massive, unaccountable conglomerate, the time for re-enforcing the intellectual and practical case for conservatism is now. Conservative beliefs in individual freedoms do in the end stand for liberty for all Americans, while liberal dictates lead to the breakdown of civilized society -- in short, tyranny. Looking back to look to the future, Levin writes "conservatism is the antidote to tyranny precisely because its principles are our founding principles." And in a series of powerful essays, Levin lays out how conservatives can counter the liberal corrosion that has filtered into every timely issue affecting our daily lives, from the economy to health care, global warming, immigration, and more -- and illustrates how change, as seen through the conservative lens, is always prudent, and always an enhancement to individual freedom. As provocative, well-reasoned, robust, and informed as his on-air commentary, Levin's narrative will galvanize readers to begin a new era in conservative thinking and action. Liberty and Tyranny provides a philosophical, historical, and practical framework for revitalizing the conservative vision and ensuring the preservation of American society. |
Item Specifications...
Pages 245
Dimensions: Length: 1" Width: 5.75" Height: 8.75"
Weight: 0.8 lbs.
Binding Hardcover
Publisher Simon & Schuster
ISBN 1416562850
EAN 9781416562856
|
Availability 50 units.
Availability accurate as of May 30, 2012 04:12.
Usually ships within one to two business days from Momence, IL.
Orders shipping to an address other than a confirmed Credit Card / Paypal Billing address may incur and additional processing delay.
|
More About Mark R. Levin
Product Categories
Similar Products
Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Conservative Book Jan 19, 2010 |
| Love, love, this book. Mark Levin clearly lays out the foundations this country was built on and how far we have strayed from this foundation. He offers guidance on how we can return to the ideals that have made America one of the strongest and greatest nations on earth. | | |  | Reviewing Levin Jan 10, 2010 |
| This book is tremendous and should be required reading in all secondary and undergraduate institutions in this country. If educators truly want students to become well-rounded citizens, they will place this book in the curriculum. | | | | Don't just read the book, think about it. Jan 8, 2010 |
This book gave me LOTS to think about, but you have to think deeper than just the words Mark uses.
Several sections are 'over the top', and most of the book implies a grand conspiracy of the 'Statist' that I don't think exists as a deliberate, organized movement, as Mark describes. The 'Statists' I know are not conspirators, nor are they pursuing some grand plan. The 'Statists' I know act for a series of 'noble causes', not as an organized movement. But this book has helped me to understand the 'Statist' better, and the perils of 'following your heart' where governemnt is concerned. Mark's book does a wonderful job of describing how each of these noble causes are combining to ruin what America was founded on, and of showing how blind adherence to noble causes has led us to where we are today. Not a deliberate conspiracy, but 'the road to Hell is paved with good intentions', and travelled by those who can't, won't, or refuse to see the overall effect of forced 'good intentions' on our liberties. Overall a very good book to understand why we are where we are, how we got here, and what we need to do about it. | | |  | Straw men and false attributions Jan 3, 2010 |
Gosh, if I hadn't had Mark Levin to tell me what I, as a liberal, believe, I would have said that my values were these: I believe in the dignity of the individual, in my right to live freely and pursue my own ends as long as they do not interfere with another person's similar right, that I am a unique, spiritual human being who believes that good and evil exist and that moral behavior means choosing between them, and that I believe in the rule of the law--but no. Mark Levin tells me that instead, I believe in the supremacy of the state and tyranny. Well, hey, Mark, just because you say it, doesn't mean it's so.
One of the first things I learned as a student of history was to look carefully at the background of people who are supporting any particular view--people with an axe to grind are not reliable witnesses, nor are people who stand to benefit in some way. You wouldn't want to rely on a guy who sells wooden legs to tell you if you need an amputation. I believe that this is an example of exactly that--Mark Levin is selling books, and to make money from that, he needs to get people fired up, or to stoke the fires that others have already set. So he demonizes the 'enemy'--me--, and he does this by attributing to me views that I do not hold. He cites no evidence for his assertions, and he denies to the liberal the spectrum of views that he allows for the conservative. To say that he is disingenuous is, I think, putting it very kindly. | | |  | Fine at stating the author's beliefs, but his "Modern Liberal" is a straw man, and "facts" are often wrong Jan 1, 2010 |
In this book Levin attempts to explain and justify conservatism, or his conservatism, in large part in contrast and opposition to what he calls Modern Liberalism/Statism. When he's expressing his conservative views, he can be clear and useful. His Conservative Manifesto at the end, for example, is concise and comprehensive, even if I disagree with his views.
However, when he characterizes the views he opposes and argues for controversial points, he all too often leaves reality far behind.
To be clear, I don't think this is necessary. I think there are important and worthwhile arguments for conservative views that don't require distortion and straw men, and there are many reasonable conservatives who make them. But this book too seldom provides them. I apologize in advance for the length, but I think these issues deserve careful attention, so I want to provide a couple examples to illustrate what I'm talking about, so the reader can better see what I refer to and reach her own conclusion.
The problems start right away. For example, Levin says on page 4 (with his italics indicated by asterisks), "The Modern Liberal believes in the supremacy of the state, thereby rejecting the principles of the Declaration [of Independence] and the order of civil society, in whole or part. For the Modern Liberal, the individual's imperfection and personal pursuits impede the objective of a utopian state. In this, Modern Liberalism promotes what French historian Alexis de Tocqueville described as a *soft tyranny*, which becomes increasingly more oppressive, potentially leading to a hard tyranny (some form of totalitarianism). As the word "*liberal*" is, in its classical meaning, the opposite of authoritarianism, it is more accurate, therefore, to characterize the Modern Liberal as a *Statist*."
I'm a liberal, I generally support the policies he associates with Modern Liberalism, and I know many liberals, but I don't know anyone who believes any of that, nor do we believe anything that implies such monumental twaddle. The truth is that both conservatives and liberals in the U.S. believe in balancing individual liberty with government power to carry out common goals, including maximizing individual freedom in the long run. We sometimes disagree about how to best make the balance, with conservatives typically preferring more government power over individuals in regard to some matters, e.g. abortion, national security and crime, and liberals in regard to others, e.g. gay rights and social welfare.
This is only one of many, many points where liberals and conservative have the same basic values that Levin pretends only conservatives believe in. Liberals believe in the importance and dignity of the individual, prudence, adhering to the Constitution in the same way as a contract, federalism, the free market, strong national defense, and so on. Many liberals also share Levin's metaphysical/religious views about Natural Law, Providence and so on (and some conservatives don't).
In addition to misrepresenting liberalism throughout, the book is filled with what are at best highly controversial statements about various issues presented as though they were established fact. Much-needed context and different perspectives are typically left out. Sometimes the assertions are just laughably false.
Again, it doesn't take long for the misinformation to begin. On page 5 the author says, "For much of American history, the balance between governmental authority and individual liberty was understood and accepted. Federal power was confined to that which was specifically enumerated in the Constitution and no more." On page 6 he marks the 1930s as the turning point away from this conservative policy to Statism.
Ridiculous. To pick only a few huge, obvious examples, there's no enumeration of a power of the federal government to acquire new territory, no enumeration of a power to create a national bank, and no enumeration of a power to compel a state to remain in the union. Such powers are arguably implicit in the practical requirements of enumerated powers, as the Supreme Court has ruled in many cases, but they're not spelled out, and each was vigorously argued to be unconstitutional for that reason, in the 19th Century. Lots of things aren't spelled out, and people of good will have always disagreed about what's implicit.
On the broader issue of government power/growth, google "Federal Government Growth Before the New Deal" by Randall G. Holcombe for a handy overview of that issue. (It's by a libertarian who opposes big government as much as Levin does, but has a better idea what he's talking about.) His thesis, supported by specific examples, is, "Popular opinion holds that most of the credit (or blame) for the incredible growth of the federal government should go to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. While Roosevelt certainly was a willing participant in that process, the federal government began its amazingly rapid growth well before the New Deal, and it is unlikely that it would be much smaller today even had FDR never come along."
I could list untruth after untruth after untruth from this book, but these will serve as illustrations. The arguments get more specific and detailed in later chapters, and some of the information is well supported and gets at worthwhile points. But the book is riddled with misleading and false assertions no better than those given above.
It's easy to win an argument with a straw man, using made-up facts. But it shows nothing except the ignorance and lack of good faith of the person who clings to such arguments. It doesn't help distinguish conservatism from liberalism if you fundamentally misrepresent what liberalism is. It doesn't help establish the strength of conservatism if myth is substituted for reality.
It's no wonder this country is so polarized and politics so dysfunctional when such a poor effort to understand opposing views is accepted and even celebrated. Levin's attempt is no better than the way many liberals misrepresent conservatism and facts and think they've shown thereby how right liberalism is. It's a problem on both sides. The first step to doing better is seeing it for what it is, on both sides. | | | Write your own review about Liberty And Tyranny
|
|
