As we hosted Jay Nordlinger over the past few days, our conversation naturally turned to books. First and foremost we discussed his own new book, Peace, They Say, a history of the Nobel Peace Prize. It is, to borrow John’s comment in a nearby post, much like Jay’s writing for National Review — smart, balanced, funny, fair. To those adjectives I would add thoughtful and deep. It is a current favorite of mine.
But what about Jay’s favorite books? Jay mentioned several. I asked if he would repeat the first of his recommendations in the short cinéma vérité video below (less than a minute). Please check it out.
Although the book is obscure, it is available from Amazon here, and I have it on order.
What else? Jay also recommended Romancing Opiates, by Theodore Dalrymple (bad title, great book, according to Jay), Abraham Lincoln: A Biography, by Benjamin Thomas, Churchill, by Paul Johnson, and Gang of One: Memoirs of a Red Guard, by Minnesota’s own Fan Shen (Jay thinks it is simply a great book, one that should last 250 years).
FOOTNOTE: Thanks to my daughter Deborah for patiently helping me upload and produce the video posted above and the one in “Peace, They Say: Bush Congratulates Carter.”
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