Live Free or Die

Anyone who has spent any time on this site, and I am acutely aware that there are very few of you, will note that I am a big fan of Mark Steyn. To clear the air, I am not a driving cross country in a diaper fan. I would consider it, except a) I am a truly crappy driver (see: Totaled, as in every car I've ever owned), b) New Hampshire is north of the Mason-Dixon line and c) diapers make my butt look big. All that aside, Mr. Steyn has married the art of telling it how it is with telling how it is in an entertaining manner.

An inescapable truth is that we all want to be entertained. Serious minded folk may object, but on closer inspection, the only thing that serious minded folk are serious minded about is being taken serious. When someone like Mr. Steyn comes along and presents serious, and well thought out, observations on serious matters, that, serious people should pay attention to, serious people stop being serious and become furious. That he is able to come to the table with an inordinate amount of (factual) statistics and present them (facts) in a clever and entertaining manner, is no small accomplishment.

Lights Out, Mr. Steyn's follow up to America Alone, lives up to Steyn's tradition of laying out the facts in an unvarnished manner that manages to hold the reader's attention with a unique sense of humour, while it entertains and informs. The good news for smart asses, like myself, is that Steyn effectively mocks "niceness", the real bane of conservatism.

I assume that recommending a book is passe' these days. We, Americans, are known for our short attention spans and for limiting our reading to the current vogue websites. However, the days of sunshine are upon us and I can't think of a better book than Lights Out to read as your basking in the sun. Unless you are one of those people who spray tans.