Zeke's Reading List from the mind of Zeke_Wilkins.

I'm in the midst of reading some interesting books, so let me share:

Bias and Arrogance by Bernard Goldberg:

I've finished reading Bias and am a third of the way through Arrogance. Both books give a revealing glimpse into how the media works. Dan Rather is mentioned in the beginning of Bias and I thought that reading the books in the aftermath of Rathergate was timely. I especially like Goldberg's take on the liberal bias of the media: he states that it is not a conspiracy, but that the liberal views of journalists are so uniform that they honestly believe they are middle of the road and anyone who disagrees with them is on the fringe of society. An interesting tidbit I learned was that not only is the New York Times significant in it's own right; but that ABC, CBS and NBC search the pages to see what they should be covering. Goldberg also goes into detail about the attitudes toward the viewing public that "mainstream" journalists have.

How I Accidentally Joined The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy (And Found Inner Peace) by Harry Stein

This is a real book. I heard about it in Bias and decided to see what it was about. The book was much easier to find than I thought it would be. I got it at the local public library no less! I am halfway through and the premise is similar to Goldberg's. The book recounts the political evolution of Mr. Stein starting with him marrying and having children. I'll have more to say when I'm finished.

The Conscience of a Conservative by Barry Goldwater

I am ashamed to admit that I know very little about Barry Goldwater - but I am a product of public education. I'm a third of the way through this short book and amazed at the clarity and conviction of Mr. Goldwater's writing. He begins the book (published in 1960) by encouraging conservatives to stop apologizing for being conservative. I look forward to finishing this book since already the message seems to be as timely as ever.

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman

Milton Friedman is another figure who I've heard of, but know close to nothing about. P. J. O'Rourke in Eat the Rich recommends Friedman, and so far (about a quarter of the book) he doesn't disappoint. Friedman does a great job of detailing exactly how political and economic freedom are intertwined and what the proper scope of government should be. I'm sure I'll have more to write about as I get further into the book, but here is a great excerpt:

"... a major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that it does this task [preventing one person interfering with another's activities] so well. It gives people what they want instead of what a particular group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguements against a free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself."