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joe8506's review against another edition
5.0
If you consider yourself to be a liberal minded progressive, this book is a must read for you. Because it is within your area of the political landscape that these destructive bad actors reside.
It is easy to dismiss the excesses of the far left. It is tempting to assume they are the irrational extremists making noise at the far reaches of the political spectrum. This may be true but those noise makers are having a frighteningly disproportionate effect on wider society. This book documents some of the more egregious triumphs of the noisy minority and the choke hold they have on many organisations and institutions. It seems to me that that the most important battle taking place in our society at the moment is not between the Left and the Right, but between the liberal and illiberal.
I do not necessarily share Murray’s political position or the importance he places on Christian tradition. I do, however, share his considered, rational and well researched concerns about the destructive path down which we have allowed ourselves to be taken.
This books is excellent and it’s a shame because I suspect those that need it most will be the least likely to read it.
It is easy to dismiss the excesses of the far left. It is tempting to assume they are the irrational extremists making noise at the far reaches of the political spectrum. This may be true but those noise makers are having a frighteningly disproportionate effect on wider society. This book documents some of the more egregious triumphs of the noisy minority and the choke hold they have on many organisations and institutions. It seems to me that that the most important battle taking place in our society at the moment is not between the Left and the Right, but between the liberal and illiberal.
I do not necessarily share Murray’s political position or the importance he places on Christian tradition. I do, however, share his considered, rational and well researched concerns about the destructive path down which we have allowed ourselves to be taken.
This books is excellent and it’s a shame because I suspect those that need it most will be the least likely to read it.
robertn25's review against another edition
Repetitive points continually made, Dry, Whiney, Doesn’t provide solutions to the problems presented (ie. Complaining)
javamamanc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
miguelf's review against another edition
2.0
Though Murray’s latest entry into the culture wars has some similarities to, say, the recent work by John McWhorter (‘Woke Racism’), one critical difference is that as McWhorter explains he is writing to the New Yorker crowd while it’s all so obvious that Murray’s rants are clearly aimed at the Ben Shapiro / Faux News / Newsmax listenership. This is an issue because he rarely makes any attempt to convince anyone outside of the ditto-head philosophical leaning rabble on the merits of his arguments and instead is just boiler plate boring grievances to serve as chum for his readership. Just take one of his ham-fisted examples: is the information regarding the centuries-long castrating of African slaves by middle easterners actually true and if so what bearing does it have on the obvious wrongs done by European slave traders and the founding of the ‘West’? It’s sophomoric. He just comes off as a hack throughout even when he would otherwise make some decent argumentation.
gon8go's review against another edition
4.0
I agreed with much of what this book has to say but…
This is a worldwide view of anti-west sentiment and the self loathing nature of our current culture. I’ve see some of the things it puts forward like a desire to “de-colonize” the white western canon by removing it from school reading lists in favour of modern, more diverse selections. The problem I had with it is when it turns into a list of anecdotes intended to be inflammatory.
Some of the things he lists are sometimes not well researched. He mentioned the residential schools here in Canada where the bodies of indigenous child were found in unmarked graves. He infers that it was based on the claims of one person with little evidence to back it up, I know that to be untrue, forensic pathologist were sent from around the country to investigate. Also, I had a hard time swallowing his defence of the church and the idea that without religion there can’t be true morality.
Overall I agree with his main message which is that western culture has done many evils but also many good things and tearing the whole thing down would be like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
This is a worldwide view of anti-west sentiment and the self loathing nature of our current culture. I’ve see some of the things it puts forward like a desire to “de-colonize” the white western canon by removing it from school reading lists in favour of modern, more diverse selections. The problem I had with it is when it turns into a list of anecdotes intended to be inflammatory.
Some of the things he lists are sometimes not well researched. He mentioned the residential schools here in Canada where the bodies of indigenous child were found in unmarked graves. He infers that it was based on the claims of one person with little evidence to back it up, I know that to be untrue, forensic pathologist were sent from around the country to investigate. Also, I had a hard time swallowing his defence of the church and the idea that without religion there can’t be true morality.
Overall I agree with his main message which is that western culture has done many evils but also many good things and tearing the whole thing down would be like throwing the baby out with the bath water.
misanthrope's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Thought provoking. A useful read provided you are reasonably skeptical and open to challenging yourself by the same standards, that you challenge others.