“Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline”, by Robert H. Bork

400 pages, HarperCollins, ISBN-13: 978-0060391638

Say it with me, just once:
“Justice Bork”
*sigh* *whimper* *groan*

Ah, what coulda been if only this intellectual giant had not been brought low by the moral pigmy from Massachusetts and his litany of lies and slander. Slouching Towards Gomorrah: Modern Liberalism and American Decline is truly the magnum opus of a towering figure in constitutional law and societal commentator and I was shocked at how prescient his work is. Having reread it a couple decades after he wrote it gives one the ability to compare his dire predictions with the ugly reality of the outcome, for Judge Bork was generally spot-on in his analysis and predictions. Judge Bork chronicles the rise of the radical “liberal” (as we call them, though Cultural Marxist would be a more accurate term) in the 1960’s. The radical, hard-left successfully executed Gramsci’s “long march through the institutions”, beginning with the universities and have, over time, come to dominate not only academia but also infotainment, law, government and the hierarchies of mainline Christian churches.

This is definitely not a book for liberals, or for sissies: if you want hard hitting, historically accurate and unassailable truth smacking-you-upside-the-head in every page, and you are willing to be open to read without criticism a critical critique of America’s narcissistic love of self and what consequences are coming down the pike, this is a must read. Bork pulls no punches as he explains in the first few pages how America and its dream of the American Way of Life have over reached its boundaries of realism, and how the fantasy Americans continue to pursue is killing the very soul of this country. You may not like Bork because of his true conservative mannerisms, but he tells the truth about our selfish, self-centered culture just like it is. I found this book fascinating in a dark sorta way, and directed to educating the unlearned and the unschooled about the consequences ofdabbling in the Beautiful Side of Evil, said consequences of ignorance being not pretty. Hopefully it is not too late for America and its citizens to wake up and see the fearsome, ugly, hateful, envious, celebrity centered reality which we have become.

Far from the neohedonism of liberalism and libertarianism, there exists the well-reasoned, constitutionally-grounded and values-affirming conservatism of Robert Bork. Slouching Towards Gomorrah is pure waters to those who have thought hard about the limits of free speech and progressive goals such as welfare expansion. Because Judge Bork’s arguments are so well thought-out and sincerely felt, his deft challenges to presumptions on the right and left again and again clear away sophomoric notions in favor of genuinely wise guidance. America was truly robbed of what would have likely been perhaps her greatest justice to date by the “borking” of this great thinker. This book should be required reading by constitutional lawyers as, whether you agree or not with Judge Bork, his arguments will definitely have you considering things more carefully.

“Faith and Fire”, by James Swallow

416 pages, The Black Library, ISBN-13: 978-1844164226

In this, his third Black Library novel set in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K universe, James Swallow uses female heroines of the Adepta Sororitas: Sister Miriya, an elite Celestian Superior, and Sister Verity, a non-militant Hospitalier. The story is a rather standard action plot, with no additional personal journeys or significant character development to get in the way. From the moment the book begins, you can feel the hopelessness and overwhelming odds that face humanity in that distant future. Sister Superior Miriya tries her best in all things, but the darkness just always seems to overcome her; she always survives, but with more and more tragedies and loss to burden herself. Towards the end of the book, however, I began to wonder if the author pulled out the Evil Overlord checklist and began picking things to do: it seemed every action the villain took was from that list – have your enemies in your power, but leave them alive; give lengthy speeches about your plans; leave their weapons where they can be found; turn your back; ignore signs of them coming up behind you – and my desire to laugh made it hard to stay in the grimdark mindset. Ah, well, with all that, the plot is fast-paced and interesting; some of the scenes are particularly good – such as Torris Vaun’s escape from prison, the attack of the city or the attempted murder of Sister Verity in the library – while others were a bit overdone, particularly towards the end of the book where almost everything seems to go up in flames at the same time. But I like the Sisters of Battle and I overall like Faith and Fire, so here’s two thumbs up for this helping of brain candy.

“Chronicles of the Tudor Kings. The Tudor dynasty from 1485 to 1553: Henry VII, Henry VIII and Edward VI in the words of their contemporaries”, edited by David Loades

256 pages, Continental Enterprises Group, ISBN-13: 978-1858335780

Sooooo…it turns out that Chronicles of the Tudor Kings – KINGS, mind you; for Bloody Mary and Gloriana ya gotta go elsewhere – is, in fact, the final book in a series profiling the Plantagenet and Tudor Kings of England…of which I have none. Oh, well, I’ll just roll with it and review what I’ve got. ‘Kay? ‘Kay. A little background first: as I’m sure you know, the House of Tudor was the royal dynasty that ruled England from 1485 to 1603…that’s including Mary I and Elizabeth I, mind you. They were of Welsh and English origins and gave five rulers to the land: the aforementioned queens, along with their predecessors on the throne, Henry VII, Henry VIII and Edward VI. The first monarch, Henry VII, came to power by defeating Richard III of the House of York in the Battle of Bosworth and was the last instance when a transfer of power was done in England through the battlefield. The editor of Chronicles is one David Loades, a professor of History at University College of North Wales and a leading authority on the Tudor Kings who was kind enough to assemble a team of leading authorities to write a series of short essays on the Tudor Kings and the people, politics, manners, mores and customs of Tudor England…but again, only between the years 1485 to 1553 when the only three Tudor kings to reign did so; as to why the chicks were left out – especially Elizabeth, who was the most consequential of the Tudors, her dad Hank the eighth notwithstanding – is, I confess, one hell of a puzzle. This collection is also filled out with contemporary chroniclers who describe the key events in each monarch’s reign in vivid detail…but only the dudes; babes need not apply. This book is beautifully illustrated with several color and black-and-white illustrations and is accompanied by a detailed genealogical table covering the Tudor succession, along with maps, a guide to the peers of the realm, a glossary and a bibliography of late 20^th Century books on the period…for the kings – no queens, mind you; kings only. A very interesting encyclopedic-style work, and very good for what it is…but, one last time, what not ALL of the Tudors? If you’re going to go through all the trouble of writing a history of one of the most consequential ruling dynasties in the world, why stop with just three of the five? I dunno…