Category: Book Reviews

Fools Errand by Scott Horton

It’s Beyond Time To End This War

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What does he know?

Rarely does a person so well understand his topic and make that knowledge easy to grasp.  Scott might just know everything there is to know about everybody involved.  Sounds amazing, and it is, but you think the amazing it can’t be.  It is be.

Scott has written a deeply researched book about just how badly this whole affair has gone and been and sheds a very needed light on parts of the government action we would prefer to think doesn’t happen.

Scott was recently on the Dave Smith podcast and explained further just how we have been misinformed.

Scott’s writing is an easy read, which is good, for he makes a chaotic topic easy to understand.  With that understanding comes a rage at how such horrors were conceived, started and allowed to continue.  It’s almost as if the government has a mind of its own, that it does not listen to the people.  As Mark Twain might say, but I repeat myself.

Fools Errand takes you down a rabbit hole from which there is no escape.  It’s kinda like the photos of the ugly dogs: you can’t un-see those and you can’t un-know what you learn from Scott’s book.

It’s not what you think

Despite the page count, the text is about half that.

Why?

Foot notes.  No kidding.  Hundreds of foot notes supporting every point.

Fools Errand does such a good job at expressing the idiocy of the brass who chose war, who chose killing Americans and Afghanis and anyone else who gets in the way, who chose fighting battles that are not ours to fight.

Not one thing in Afghanistan was our concern.  But, Americans went and killed and died for no good reason.

Fools Errand exposes the foolishness that is Army Brass but also the foolishness of thinking violence grows peace.

In addition to writing the book, Scott appears on the Tom Woods show here, and here,  here, and here.  Scott talks quickly so you’ll have to keep distractions at bay.

What’s old and what’s new?

Scott does have a previous book available, Lords of Secrecy, and is working on another.

What Has Government Done to Our Money?

What, indeed, has the gubmint done with our money?

In high school a book review was written, if at all, after the book had been read. Even after the Cliff Notes version. I am jumping to the head of the class and writing a review of a book I’ve not even read to page 50. Why do such a cavalier thing as write about a book before the end? Well, it’s non-fiction, and I know who did it.  (Spoiler alert: the government did it.)  The author is the inimitable Murray N. Rothbard.

I am new to the very many works of Rothbard. Murray was several things including funny and prolific. This particular book, What Has Government Done to our Money? takes an early educational tone which is informative at a basic level and never pandering to the reader. Murray seems to expect you don’t know what he does and is happy to share it so you can catch up. As I’ve learned about Murray through his critics and fans, all seem to agree that he is never condescending to the reader. As a reader who seeks to grasp what I know I don’t know, I appreciate the rather folksy, “come, sit next to me and let’s chat about money” feel of the book.

Money. It’s been a hit song, the source of nearly all troubles in one way or another and, in my life, almost totally misunderstood. My parents knew not these things about money. Frankly, few people do. They were busy doing parent things and reading about economics wasn’t on the list. I am doing parent things, and for this parent, a better than non-existent understanding of economics is on the list. I owe to my kids the best knowledge I can give them about economics. An understanding about what money is, what has happened to it and how they can not be affected by that is likely one of the most valuable gifts I can give the.

If I have been unclear, read What Has Government Done to Our Money?

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