The Prodigious Thomas Sowell...

Hi all,

The first time I met Thomas Sowell was when I was about 14 or 15 years old. My father had just been forced out of San Jose State University due to his writings and beliefs. Sowell reached out and invited our family over to his house in Palo Alto for what would be the first of many dinners.

What I remember the most about that evening was Sowell’s generosity — he and his wife, Mary, made us feel right at home. I know I must have asked Sowell several “dumb” questions but he took the time to answer them in depth and in a way that my young mind could grasp.

My favorite memory of that first encounter was his photography darkroom toward the back of the house — photography was my favorite subject in high school and some of his pictures were near the level of Ansel Adams. I had been told at that time that he had already written something like 25 books and I remember wondering how he could do all of that and still take these amazing pictures.

Well then, it really should be no surprised that Sowell, at the age of 93, published yet another book this past Sunday: “Social Justice Fallacies.” I am still in the process of reading the book so this is not a review. But based on what I’ve read so far, Sowell’s gift lies in forcing “grand ideas” into a reckoning with facts, and that is what he does with the social justice movement of our time. What Sowell points out is so obvious and clear that we, the reader, must wonder how we allowed such an utopian, empty idea to do so much damage to our society. Is it possible to recover?

In many ways, we are dealing with similar issues in our “White Guilt” documentary, but from more of a psychological perspective. We need all the bulwarks we can get in our fight in today’s culture wars and it is my hope that Sowell’s book becomes part of that fortification.

For a copy of the book, click here or on the below image:

Please check out Peter Robinson’s interview with Sowell that came out last Friday:

I don’t know if you are aware, but the works of Sowell are being embraced by many youths in America who are posting “reaction” videos to Sowell’s wisdom. It is fascinating to see his ideas live on in various forms and here is one such video:

And, finally, here is a review of the new book from Quillette Magazine:

If you have had a chance to read the book, I would love to hear what you think.

All my best,

Eli