Book roundup: Nick Cohen, Niall Ferguson, Richard Wiseman, Thomas Sowell

Nick Cohen - Waiting for the Etonians, Reports from the Sickbed of Liberal England (2009)

Nick Cohen – Waiting for the Etonians, Reports from the Sickbed of Liberal England (2009)

This little England, it’s dingy and it’s mean

I’ve flirted with her mewling gods and petty jealousies

These edited-reader rebels with their simulated causes

Their weak-chinned snarls and red guitars I disregard them all

Recommended: Yes.

Niall Ferguson – Colossus, The Rise and Fall of the American Empire (2004)

The United States is an empire, although often an incompetent one, and should embrace their burden, because the alternative is worse.

Though it cuts me to my soul that

It must be America

It must be America

Or nothing at all

Read: 116 pages.

Recommended: No. This is an argument, not a history.  I don’t care about the conclusion, I want the details.

Richard Wiseman - Paranormality, Why We See What Isn't There (2011)

Richard Wiseman – Paranormality, Why We See What Isn’t There (2011)

Not only are paranormal phenomenons bunk, the natural explanations for them are more interesting than any supernatural ones could be.  (And oh, it’s better to know. Okay, I’ll stop now.)

Recommended: Yes.  This is in fact the perfect approach to this subject.

Thomas Sowell – Intellectuals and Society

Intellectuals are often wrong, especially leftist ones.

Read: 45 pages.

Recommended: No. Alongside Hayek, it’s superflous.