Pearsall's Books

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Friday, December 31, 2004

Favorite Books of 2004 (That I Haven't Reviewed Yet), Part Three

Phew, finally I got to ten!

Thomas Sowell Ethnic America - A tour-de-force look at the historical impact on America of nine major ethnic groups (the Germans, the Irish, the Chinese, the Italians, the Mexicans, the black Africans, the Puerto Ricans, the Japanese, and the Jews). Although now thirty years old, this is a fantastic primer on the different achievements and historical impacts on America of these most important non-British ethnic groups. Highly recommended, and to my mind the best work that Sowell has done.

Jon Ronson THEM: Adventures with Extremists - Over the course of a five year period the British humourist Jon Ronson travelled around the wilder fringes of the Western world, a journey that took him from cack-handed Islamic fundamentalists (Sheikh Omar Bakri, the 'semi-detached ayatollah'), to Lizardoid conspiracy theorist David Icke, the family of Randy Weaver, assorted anti-New World Order activists, and the scoping out of Bilderburg Club meetings and a bizarre neo-pagan ritual in the woods of Northern California attended by a variety of influential political, business, and cultural figures. Thought-provoking and funny.

Anthony Beevor Stalingrad - A gripping recounting of Hitler's disastrous decision to invade the Soviet Union and the unbelievable carnage that resulted, up until the final annihilation of the German Fifth Army in the ruins of Stalingrad.

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