Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

Latest Episodes:

Scalia: Rise to Greatness (Guest: James Rosen) May 08, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Rosen, chief White House correspondent for Newsmax, to discuss his new book, Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936 to 1986. They discuss his Catholic upbringing and education, his stints in academia and his published works, his service in the Nixon and Ford administrations, and his time on the D.C. District Court of Appeals. They also chat about his personality, the importance of his Catholic faith, and what made such a special character in American history.

Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War (Guest: Mark Moyar) May 03, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Mark Moyar, William P. Harris Chair in Military History at Hillsdale College, to discuss his new book, Triumph Regained: The Vietnam War, 1965-1968. Moyar discusses why the war was a strategic necessity, how American operations gave the South Vietnamese government some breathing space, and how the war could possibly been brought to a satisfactory conclusion if LBJ had heeded more advice from his generals. They also chat about how, contrary to public perception, the Tet Offensive was an unmitigated disaster for the North Vietnamese militarily and, also contrary to public perception, American culture sustained public support for the war through the end of 1968.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/triumph-regained/

Show Notes:

American Greatness: Victor Davis Hanson – “Refighting the Vietnam War”
https://amgreatness.com/2023/02/27/refighting-the-vietnam-war/

The American Spectator: Francis P. Sempa – “Who Lost Vietnam? Mark Moyar’s New Book Spreads the Blame”
https://spectator.org/who-lost-vietnam-mark-moyars-new-book-spreads-the-blame/

Washington Examiner: Avi Woolf – “The eternal reexamination of Vietnam”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/the-eternal-reexamination-of-vietnam

Sly & the Family Stone (Guest: Joel Selvin) May 01, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Joel Selvin, former columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, to discuss the new paperback edition of his book, Sly & the Family Stone: An Oral History. They chat about how Sly changed the face of black music, the impact and influence his music had on his peers, and the symbolism of the interracial and intergender Family Stone. They also discuss Sly’s prolific drug use and increasing paranoia and how everything came crashing down.

A Short History of War (Guest: Jeremy Black) Apr 25, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Jeremy Black, emeritus professor of history at the University of Exeter, to discuss the new paperback edition of his book, The Short History of War. They chat about how warfare has transformed the social, political, cultural, and religious aspects of humanity across time, the significance of warfare more broadly, and the ways in which cultural understandings of conflict have lasting consequences in societies across the world. They also discuss the fundamental impact of weaponry on modes of war and what the future of warfare will look like.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300267075/a-short-history-of-war/

Show Notes:

Wall Street Journal: Crawford Gribben – “‘A Short History of War’ Review: Fighting the Battles”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-short-history-of-war-review-fighting-the-battles-11636583345

Religious Liberty and the American Founding (Guest: Vincent Phillip Muñoz) Apr 13, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Tocqueville Associate Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Associate Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame, to discuss his new book, Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses. They chat about how the Founding Fathers understood religious liberty to be an inalienable natural right, what we can and cannot determine about the original meanings of the Religion Clauses, and how a re-adoption of the Founders’ understanding would lead to a minimalist church-state jurisprudence delivering neither consistently conservative nor consistently liberal results.

How the Court Became Supreme: The Origins of American Juristocracy (Guest: Paul D. Moreno) Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Paul D. Moreno, professor of history at Hillsdale College, to discuss his new book, How the Court Became Supreme: The Origins of American Juristocracy. They chat about how the U.S. Supreme Court has emerged as the most powerful judiciary unit in the history of the world, how the Court got to that point, and what exactly “judicial primacy” means.

Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire (Guest: Michael Broers) Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Michael Broers, Professor of Western European History at Oxford University, and to discuss his new book, Napoleon: The Decline and Fall of an Empire: 1811-1821. They chat about how Napoleon went from the colossus of Europe to a prisoner on tiny St. Helena in just four short years, how exactly he was brought to defeat, and how Tsar Alexander of Russia was Bonaparte’s perfect foil. They also talk about whether Napoleon actually did some good for Europe and the carnage of the Napoleonic Wars.

Get the book here: http://pegasusbooks.com/books/napoleon-9781639361779-hardcover

Show Notes:

Times Literary Supplement: Alan Forrest – “The road to St Helena”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/napoleon-michael-broers-napoleon-at-peace-william-doyle-book-review-alan-forrest/

Wall Street Journal: Dominic Green – “‘Napoleon’ Review: The Road to Waterloo”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/napoleon-review-the-road-to-waterloo-11659477197

Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America (Guest: David E. Bernstein) Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David E. Bernstein, University Professorship chair at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, to discuss his new book, Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification in America. They chat about the development and history of the completely absurd and arbitrary racial classification system in the United States, whether the federal government should even be classifying people by race at all, and what system, if any, should replace our current one.

Get the book here: https://posthillpress.com/book/classified-the-untold-story-of-racial-classification-in-america

Show Notes:

Cato Institute: “Classified: The Untold Story of Racial Classification In America” (VIDEO)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/classified-untold-story-racial-classification-america

Law & Liberty: Scott Gerber – “Separating Race and State”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/separating-race-and-state/

Manhattan Institute for Policy Research: “Classified: The Untold Story Of Racial Classification In America” (VIDEO)
https://www.manhattan-institute.org/classified-untold-story-racial-classification-america

Washington Post: George F. Will – “How racial preferences feed grasping grievance groups and grow ever more absurd”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/30/racial-preferences-absurd-identity-politics/

The British Way of War (Guest: Andrew Lambert) Mar 21, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History at King’s College, London, to discuss his new book, The British Way of War: Julian Corbett and the Battle for a National Strategy. They chat about who Julian Corbett was and what exactly entailed his “maritime strategy.” They also discuss how that strategy, unheeded during the Great War to disastrous consequences, proved critical to Allied success in the Second World War and shaped Winston Churchill’s conduct of the conflict.

Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300250732/the-british-way-of-war/

Show Notes:
The National Interest: William Anthony Hay – “Julian Corbett and the Rebirth of British Strategy”
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/julian-corbett-and-rebirth-british-strategy-201295

Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet (Guest: Marian L. Tupy) Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Marian L. Tupy, editor of HumanProgress.org and senior fellow at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity at the Cato Institute, to discuss his new book (co-authored with Gale L. Pooley), Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet. They chat about “time prices,” why apocalyptic predictions about overpopulation and resource exhaustion won’t die, why human beings are actually the Earth’s most important resource, and what we can learn on the subject from Marvel’s Avengers.
Get the book here: https://store.cato.org/products/superabundance
Show Notes:
American Institute for Economic Research: Art Carden – “Review of Superabundance by Marian L. Tupy and Gale L. Pooley”
https://www.aier.org/article/review-of-superabundance-by-marian-l-tupy-and-gale-l-pooley/
City Journal: Yael Levin Hungerford – “Affirmations”
https://www.city-journal.org/review-of-superabundance
RealClearMarkets: Eric Grover – “Book Review: Marian Tupy & Gale Pooley's 'Superabundance'”
https://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2022/12/01/book_review_marian_tupy_and_gale_pooleys_superabundance_867669.html

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