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Article:8 |
Some good reads (click on a book or book title for purchasing information or more reviews) |
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Character Is Destiny
As in last year's Why Courage Matters, McCain's latest volume uses biography as an illustration of virtue, but this time the senator broadens his palette significantly, telling 34 stories of heroes whose lives embody qualities ranging from honesty and loyalty to curiosity and enthusiasm. At the root of them all, he says, is a willingness to stay true to one's conscience against all challenges. Thus martyrs appear prominently, from Thomas More and Joan of Arc to Edith Cavell and Father Maximilian Kolbe, as do military heroes, including Pat Tillman, the pro football player whose love of country led him to enlist in the army shortly after 9/11. |
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But the pantheon is inclusive enough to hold Aung
San Suu Kyi and Gandhi alongside Churchill and Eisenhower. Although he
is reaching out to a younger readership, McCain's plain but sincere
language does not condescend to his audience. He makes occasional
oblique references to his experiences as a prisoner of war—describing,
for example, how they reinforce his understanding of Victor Frankl's
concept of dignity—but the only chapter centered on his ordeal
highlights a furtive moment of kindness from a Vietnamese soldier. Amid
much speculation concerning his plans for 2008, McCain has made a
declaration of values that liberals can embrace as readily as
conservatives. |
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The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth
Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com Ever feel like you just can't get ahead with the bills?
You're not alone. More than half of Americans believe the American dream
has become impossible for most people to achieve. And two-thirds think
this goal will be even harder for the next generation. (One reason for
the gloominess--average full-time income has fallen 15 percent since
1975.) All this has Benjamin Friedman worried. In his hefty, 549-page
tome, The Moral Consequences of Economic Growth, the acclaimed Harvard
economist and advisor to the Federal Reserve Board says economic
stagnation is bad for the moral health of a nation. Friedman, a former
chair of Harvard's economics department, argues that economic growth is
vital to social and political progress. Witness Hitler's Germany.
Without growth, people look for answers in intolerance and fear. And
that, Friedman warns, is where the U.S. is headed if the economic
stagnation of the past three decades doesn't soon reverse. It's not
enough for gross domestic product to rise, he says. Growth also has to
be more evenly distributed. The rich shouldn't be the only ones getting
richer. |
