Specifically: Breakout: Pioneers of the Future, Prison Guards of the Past, and the Epic Battle That Will Decide America’s Fate. I don’t particularly care for contemporary political books, as probably everybody here knows: but I will admit to having a certain admiration for Newt Gingrich*, if for no other reason than that Newt represents just how far a science fiction nerd can get in this country.
And Speaker of the House is pretty dang far. There are people who argue that it’s a sweeter deal than President of the United States.
Anyway, the book appears to be a look at what, precisely, is stopping – or at least delaying** – various trans-formative events in various fields. Spoiler warning: Newt thinks that the culprits are folks who find that the current situation suits them, and who don’t want to rock the boat. It looks interesting so far: once I’m done I’ll tell you how it went.
Moe Lane
Full disclosure: Regnery published the book; Regnery is owned by Eagle Publishing; Eagle also owns RedState; I am a Contributing Editor for RedState.
*An admission that would have appalled the 1996 me, by the way; admittedly, back then I was a Democrat.
**That may just be me saying that: I do not believe that you can stop it from being steam-engine time forever, but Newt Gingrich might end up agreeing with me.
Newt Gingrich is so boring that everyt-
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*falls asleep before his head could hit the desk*
Zzzzzz…
A friend of mine founded and ran a 400-person supercomputer laboratory. Newt visited one day, and my friend talked to him one-on-one for an hour or so. He later described Newt as “one of the smartest people I’ve met, and certainly the smartest politician.”
Blue Sky Newt is best Newt.
All the other Newts have not been credit to team.
I admit being a huge fan of “Push Back Against the Media Newt”.
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I also supported him in the last Presidential go-round. By the time my state’s turn came around, he was the only one left who’d actually advanced a Conservative cause. (Didn’t matter, Romney won the precinct easily. It’s the downside of living in an area where Mormons make up roughly 50% of the population.)
The people who run planned economies HATE innovation. New inventions and discoveries upset the Master Plan and make the self-proclaimed Smartest People in the Room look bad.
The common comparison is China under its’ emperors, and Valencia under the Borgias.
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The former managed a very *very* long-term innovation-free (but stable) stagnation, the latter managed an *intense* short-term high-innovation period.
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Which, in your opinion, more closely mirrors the U.S. circa 1780 or 1880 or 1980, and which more closely mirrors the technocrat dream?
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Mew