My Favorite Books From Last Year.

I am borrowing / copying / stealing this post from Rebecca at My Adventures in History. A few days ago, she wrote a post entitled My Top Ten History Books of 2009. The post discussed some of her favorite history books that she read in 2009. After reading her post, I decided it might be fun to do the same thing here. So, here are my favorite political / current events / history books that I read in 2009 (in no real order).

1. A Slobbering Love Affair: The True (And Pathetic) Story of the Torrid Romance Between Barack Obama and the Mainstream Media by Bernard Goldberg. I read this book early in 2009, and wrote a review of it here. The main message of this book was that the media did a very poor job of looking into (then candidate) Barack Obama's history. The media has lost, and will continue to lose, credibility because of it. This book sounds like an attack on Barack Obama, but it was really a critique of the media.
   
   
   
2. Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg. I reviewed this book here. It's a very good book and will have you rethinking the Woodrow Wilson administration, the 1960's, and our government today.
   
   
   
3. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson by Joseph Ellis. I reviewed this one back in February. It falls into the "history" category, but it is a quick read. Mr. Ellis does a very good job of showing both the author of the Declaration of Independence and the man of contradictions we know him to be. I highly recommend it.
   
   
   
4. Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark Levin. The best work of Conservative thought I have ever read, and possibly the best one ever written. If you are Conservative or Libertarian, this is a must read. If you are liberal and want a concise explanation of what Conservative's think, this is your "enemy playbook".
   
   
   
5. The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle That Changed the World by W. Cleon Skousen. I couldn't mention the books I read last year and not mention this one. When I reviewed it in May, I never thought it would generate the debate it did on this site. I have reports that tell me what pages on this site people look at. The review on this book is read every single day.
   

In case you aren't interested in any of these books, I also have two "honorable mentions" from last year. Both of these books are well worth the read, and neither made it onto this site for a review.

1. A Man of Letters by Thomas Sowell. This was a great read. It is Mr. Sowell's attempt to retrace portions of his life through his correspondence. There are only a few people that I will read anything they write. Mr. Sowell is one of them. Anytime I find an article by him, I stop what I am doing to read it. This book really made me think. You won't be disappointed with it.
   
   
   
2. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!by Jane Austen and Seth Gramme-Smith. Really, what classic wouldn't be made at least a little better if you added zombies? This contains Austen's original masterpiece, with a little zombie goodness sprinkled in for fun. You'll laugh! You'll Cry! It's better than Cats! At least until Cats and Zombies opens on Broadway.

I hope you try at least one of these books over the next year. If you do, let me know what you thought of it. Did you read any books this past year that should be reviewed on here? Let me know. Regardless of the political perspective of the author, if I like the book, and think my readers will like it, I'll review it and post it here.