A fun read.  The novel was loosely based on an actual situation.  Of course it was embellished and taken a bit further, but hey, it's fiction!  It was pretty obvious that the fictional president was based on Ronald Reagan and the fictional Pope was based on John Paul II.  What a tandem!

Very clearly provides a chronology of the intellectual and operational rise of militant Islam and it's theological transition from nationalist movements targeting "inadequate" Muslim leaders and Soviet occupiers to an aggressive global campaign against the West.  The book also sheds some light on the myth of the importance of bin Laden to the ouster of the Soviets in Afghanistan.  Finally, a great exposition on the failures of the FBI and CIA to cooperate during the 1990s -- a failure that ultimately led to the success of the 9-11 attacks.

An excellent read that documents the proactive policies pursued by the Reagan Administration that helped topple the Soviet Empire.  The most significant point to take away from this book, in my opinion, is that elections and policies matter significantly.  But for Reagan's election and active commitment to bringing the Soviet Union to its knees, it may very well exist today.

As a big fan of Hugh Hewitt and a growing fan of Mitt Romney, I looked forward to reading this book.  It's a very quick read and does a fine job of introducing prospective voters to who Mitt Romney is and, more importantly, how he would likely govern.  Hugh also does a nice job of laying out the challenges that Romney would have to overcome to win the presidency.

Another satisfying Steve Berry thriller.

Hugh Hewitt is conducting an 8-part interview with the author to discuss the book.  The availability of the podcasts on Townhall.org allows me to read a couple of chapters at a time and stay ahead of the inverview.  It's always more interesting to form your own thoughts or questions before hearing what the author has to say.

What a terrific read!  I found the portraits of Lincoln and his contemporaries both moving and humanizing.  It would be difficult for anyone reading the book to not come away with an even deeper appreciation for the personal and political gifts of our sixteenth president and the times in which he lived.  I must admit that I found the run up to the Republican nomination of 1860 to be somewhat tedious reading in that much of it was devoted to biographical sketches of the figures vying for the nomination.  The reason is probably no more than my general lack of enjoyment in reading biography of any kind.  The book really took off for me when it focused more on the inner workings of the Lincoln Administration and how the cabinet members interrelated with one another.   The book also served as a timely reminder that waging and winning a war is difficult, as is maintaining the support of the public which ebbs and flows with changing developments.  We often look back upon history and see events as forgone conclusions.  They weren't.  Choices and perseverance matter.  They make all the difference in history.

Excellent and relatively quick read.  Clearly shows that the American Revolution was not the fait accompli that is sometimes appears to be in retrospect.  Not that any war is easy, but sometimes it's convenient to gloss over the struggles while reading about the successes.  Having not read in much depth about the actual warfare during the Revolutionary period, I found myself appreciative of how miraculous victory really was.  It also conveys that many mistakes are made during war.  Even as revered a figure as George Washington made consequential mistakes before finally achieving success.

Very fascinating if somewhat dense reading at times.  I found Huntington's civilizational model both intriguing and persuasive. 

This is a must-read for anyone trying to gain a better understanding of the the immigration debate.  Hanson combines his scholarly approach with his own personal experience of living on a farm amidst a growing immigrant population in southern California.  He puts a very human face on what to many Americans may appear to be an abstract, distant problem by approaching illegal immigration from the perspective of both the American citizen and illegal immigrant.  I was particularly stirred by his discussion of the resentment that can grow within illegals even though they are making material gains far in excess of what they would have in Mexico and how that resentment contributes toward a romanticization of the Mexican homeland.  We should all heed Hanson's warning about what California, and by extension America, will become if the status quo continues unabated. 

If you're interested in politics, this book is definitely for you.  The book follows the saga of Governor Willie Stark (loosely based on former Louisiana Governor and Senator Huey Long) and his retinue of advisors, family, lovers and hangers-on.  The book asks the ultimate question -- is it justifiable to do evil deeds in the pursuit of the good?  It's a very tragic book.

This guy is the economics professor we all wish we had.  Very good at showing how the conventional wisdom is often mistaken.

A helpful read for anyone wanting to become more people-centered in their approach.

The author is a respected and well-connected insider who provides evidence regarding some of the events and scheming that occured in the middle east during the run-up to the war that wasn't widely known or reported.  Want to know what likely happened to the WMDs?  How about Hussein's plans to attack Israel and throw the entire region into chaos?  Its in the book along with a lot of other information that wasn't widely known.

Anyone opposed to President Bush's efforts in the middle east have ceded tremendous intellectual ground if they haven't read this book.  Its a must read for anyone BEFORE they decide to oppose our intervention in the region.

Many aspects of the Global War On Terror (GWOT) are fought without any headlines or fanfare.  The author chronicles example after example of how the GWOT is being won all over the world.

A great book for those interested in some big picture questions about humanity, historical purpose and inter-connectedness.  An interesting sweep of history.  Reading this book affirmed my appreciation that our lives, both individually and collectively, have purpose and are moving toward fulfillment.

Very, very insightful read. The most important thing I gleaned from the book is the importance of the Iraq War to the goal of forcing Saudi Arabia, home of radical Wahabiism, to join the United States in the fight against Al Qaeda.