Ever Wonder Why? And Other Controversial Essays

✍ Scribed by Thomas Sowell

• Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 477
• Edition: 1st
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Thomas Sowell takes aim at a range of legal, social, racial, educational, and economic issues in this latest collection of his controversial, never boring, always thought-provoking essays. From "gun control myths" to "mealy mouth media" to "free lunch medicine," Sowell gets to the heart of the matters we all care about with his characteristically unsparing candor.

✦ Table of Contents

Book Title......Page 4
Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 14
Part I: The Culture Wars
......Page 18
Ever Wonder Why?......Page 20
Animal Rites......Page 23
“Us” or “Them”?......Page 26
Twisted History......Page 29
Explaining to the Grand Kids......Page 32
Human Livestock......Page 35
The Wright Stuff......Page 38
The Legacy of Eric Hoffer......Page 41
One-Uppers versus Survival......Page 44
The Equality Dogma......Page 47
The Inequality Dogma......Page 50
Equality, Inequality, and Fate......Page 53
Hiroshima......Page 56
The Tyranny of Visions......Page 59
The Tyranny of Visions: Part II......Page 62
The Tyranny of Visions: Part III......Page 65
The Immigration Taboo......Page 68
The Left Monopoly......Page 71
I Beg to Disagree......Page 74
4th Estate or 5th Column?......Page 77
Part II: Economic Issues
......Page 80
Why Economists Are Not Popular......Page 82
Housing Hurdles......Page 85
The “Cost” of Medical Care......Page 88
Subsidies Are All Wet......Page 91
A Taxing Experience......Page 94
Profits without Honor......Page 97
Profits without Honor: Part II......Page 100
Two Earthquakes......Page 103
Peter Bauer (1915-2002)......Page 106
Journalists and Economics......Page 109
Stock Crash Aftermath......Page 112
Milton Friedman at 90......Page 115
“Price Gouging” in Florida......Page 118
Economic “Power”......Page 121
A Relic of the Recent Past......Page 124
Who Can Afford It?......Page 127
Free-Lunch Medicine......Page 130
Free-Lunch Medicine: Part II......Page 133
Free-Lunch Medicine: Part III......Page 136
Manufacturing Confusion......Page 139
A Cold Shower......Page 142
An Old “New Vision”......Page 145
Third World Sweatshops......Page 148
Third World Sweatshops: Part II......Page 151
Privatizing Social Security......Page 154
Privatizing Social Security: Part II......Page 157
“Living Wage” Kills Jobs......Page 160
A Happy Birthday?......Page 163
Part III: Legal Issues
......Page 166
Calculated Confusion......Page 168
Judges and Judgment......Page 171
Justice for Little Angelo......Page 174
Property Rites......Page 177
Property Rites: Part II......Page 180
Property Rites: Part III......Page 183
Foreign Law Is Not Law......Page 186
Medical Lawsuits......Page 189
Fixing the Jury System......Page 192
Half a Century after Brown......Page 195
Half a Century after Brown: Part II......Page 198
Half a Century after Brown: Part III......Page 201
Umpires, Judges, and Others......Page 204
Big Business and Quotas......Page 207
The Grand Fraud......Page 210
The Grand Fraud: Part II......Page 213
The Grand Fraud: Part III......Page 216
The Grand Fraud: Part IV......Page 219
Saving Quotas......Page 222
The High Cost of Nuances......Page 225
The Polio Fallacy......Page 228
Part IV: Political Issues
......Page 232
Spoiled Brat Politics......Page 234
Spoiled Brat Politics: Part II......Page 237
The “Compassion” Racket......Page 240
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004)......Page 243
Gun Control Myths......Page 246
Gun Control Myths: Part II......Page 249
A Painful Anniversary......Page 252
The High Cost of Shibboleths......Page 255
“Why Do They Hate Us?”......Page 258
Foreign “Allies”......Page 261
My Platform......Page 264
The Oldest Fraud......Page 267
The Left’s Vision......Page 270
The Left’s Vocabulary......Page 273
Abstract People......Page 276
Looking Back......Page 279
Part V: Social Issues
......Page 282
Mealy Mouth Media......Page 284
Achievements and Their Causes......Page 287
Talkers versus Doers......Page 290
Talkers versus Doers: Part II......Page 293
Liberals and Class......Page 296
Liberals and Class: Part II......Page 299
Liberals and Class: Part III......Page 302
The Autism “Spectrum”......Page 305
The High Cost of Busybodies......Page 308
The High Cost of Busybodies: Part II......Page 311
The High Cost of Busybodies: Part III......Page 314
The High Cost of Busybodies: Part IV......Page 317
“Partial Truth” Abortion......Page 320
Lying about Yosemite......Page 323
Growing Old......Page 326
April Fools’ Party......Page 329
Part VI: Education Issues
......Page 332
Choosing a College......Page 334
The Idiocy of “Relevance”......Page 337
Julian Stanley and Bright Children......Page 340
For What Purpose?......Page 343
School Performances......Page 346
School Performances: Part II......Page 349
School Performances: Part III......Page 352
College Admissions Voodoo......Page 355
Summer De-Programming......Page 358
Fat in California’s Budget......Page 361
A Scary Report......Page 364
“Teaching to the Test”......Page 367
“Teaching to the Test”: Part II......Page 370
“Teaching to the Test”: Part III......Page 373
Smart “Problems”......Page 376
Vouchers Vindicated......Page 379
Artificial Stupidity......Page 382
“Good” Teachers......Page 385
A Sign of the Times......Page 388
Suspicious Stats......Page 391
Peers and Pied Pipers......Page 394
Part VII: Racial Issues
......Page 398
Older Budweiser......Page 400
Rosa Parks and History......Page 403
“Friends” of Blacks......Page 406
“Friends” of Blacks: Part II......Page 409
Recycled “Racism”......Page 412
Dangerous Democracy?......Page 415
Are Cops Racist?......Page 418
Rattling the Chains......Page 421
Roasting Walter Williams......Page 424
“Diversity” in India......Page 427
Race and IQ......Page 430
Race and IQ: Part II......Page 433
Race and IQ: Part III......Page 436
An Old War and a New One......Page 439
Silly Letters......Page 442
Black History Month......Page 445
Bravo for Bill Cosby......Page 448
Quota “Logic”......Page 451
Quota “Logic”: Part II......Page 454
Part VIII: Random Thoughts
......Page 458
Random Thoughts......Page 460