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549. Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:  Jason Riley

Genre:   Non Fiction, Biography, Economics, Politics, Public Policy

301 pages, published May 25, 2021

Reading Format:   E-Book on Overdrive

Summary

Maverick is a biography by the Wall Street Journal’s Jason Riley of conservative economist and prolific author Thomas Sowell.  Growing up without a mother or father, barely subsisting in Harlem during his teenage years, and belatedly attending college in his late 20’s, Sowell did not have an easy path.  However, he made the most of his opportunities and forged a brilliant path, transferring from Howard to Harvard, receiving a master’s degree from Columbia and a PhD from the University of Chicago (where he studied under Milton Friedman) and then teaching at Cornell and UCLA before landing at the Hoover Institution at Stanford.  Unafraid and dedicated to empiricism, Sowell’s critiques of liberal tenets such as affirmative action has often infuriated those on the left, especially those who think of black conservatives as race traitors.  During his storied career, Sowell has published over 30 books covering topics from economic history and social inequality to political theory, race, and culture and is a National Humanities Medal recipient for innovative scholarship which incorporated history, economics and political science.

Quotes 

Having previously read Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell and having seen several interviews with him, I was already aware of his intriguing, well reasoned and empirically supported ideas about economics and race.  That understanding was enhanced and deepened after reading this thoroughly engaging and well researched biography by the talented Jason Riley who I always enjoy seeing on The Journal Editorial Report.  The world has benefitted greatly from the life of Thomas Sowell and I look forward to reading more of the books in his canon.

 

My Take

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532. False Black Power?

Rating:  ☆☆☆☆

Recommended by:

Author:  Jason Riley

Genre:  Non Fiction, Race, History, Politics, Public Policy

129 pages, published May 30, 2017

Reading Format:   Book

Summary

In False Black Power, Wall Street Journal Editorial Board member Jason Riley challenges the identity politics and Critical Race Theory advocated by Black civil rights leaders as a dead end for Black Americans.  Riley demonstrates that the strategy of integrating political institutions, i.e. if more Blacks hold elective office then the lives of Blacks will be improved, has not worked.  In fact, Blacks are qualitatively worse off in cities controlled by Black elected officials (see Detroit).  The book also includes critiques by John McWhorter and Glenn Loury along with responses from Riley.

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My Take

I found False Black Power well researched and documented critique of the failure of left wing policies to uplift Black America.  Riley proposes solutions that empower Blacks, rather than promote an embrace of victim status, such as increased school-choice vouchers and reducing social safety nets (making them a more temporary form of welfare rather than the multigenerational welfare system).  In the same vien as White Guilt and Shame by Shelby Steele and Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell, Riley thoughtfully contributes to our national conversation about race in America.

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