Ill Literacy: Books with Benson

Latest Episodes:

Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy (Guest: Stephen F. Knott) Feb 09, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Stephen F. Knott, professor of national security affairs at Naval War College,to discuss his new book, Coming to Terms with John F. Kennedy. They chat about the mystique around JFK and why it still continues to hold, in some form, almost 60 years after his assassination. They also talk about Kennedy’s approach to civil rights, what would have happened with Vietnam if he had survived his fatal trip to Dallas and won a second term, and what his legacy should be today.

Get the book here: https://kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700633654/

Rome: Strategy of Empire (Guest: James Lacey) Jan 25, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by James Lacey, Horner Chair of War Studies and Professor of Strategic Studies and Political Economy at Marine Corps War College,to discuss his new book, Rome: Strategy of Empire. They chat about whether the Roman Empire really did have a grand strategy, what that grand strategy might have been, and whether it had the bureaucratic apparatus necessary to put that strategy into effect. They also discuss why it took the Roman Empire such a long time to collapse, and the importance of the Pax Romana to the Mediterranean world.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/rome-9780190937706?cc=us&lang=en&

Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and His Daring Quest for a Free Cuba (Guest: David E. Hoffman) Jan 24, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by David E. Hoffman, contributing editor and member of the editorial board of The Washington Post, to discuss his new book, Give Me Liberty: The True Story of Oswaldo Payá and his Daring Quest for a Free Cuba. They chat about how democracy for Cuba became Payá’s life work, the remarkable achievement of the Varela Project, and whether Payá’s death really was an accident or if Castro’s regime had a part in it.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Give-Me-Liberty/David-E-Hoffman/9781982191191

Show Notes:

National Endowment for Democracy: “Give Me Liberty: Examining the Legacy of Oswaldo Payá” (VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T4o7VLXI84

Times Literary Supplement: Anthony DePalma – “‘We are not afraid’”
https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/give-me-liberty-david-e-hoffman-book-review-anthony-depalma/

Washington Free Beacon: Flagg Taylor – “The Courage to Counter Castro”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/the-courage-to-counter-castro/

The Washington Post: Vanessa Garcia – “The Legacy for which this Cuban dissident fought is still unfolding”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/07/01/legacy-which-this-cuban-dissident-fought-is-still-unfolding/

The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society (Guest: William Deresiewicz) Jan 19, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by award-winning essayist and critic William Deresiewiczto discuss his new book, The End of Solitude: Selected Essays on Culture and Society. They chat about how social media is changing the nature of our interaction with others, addressing West Point plebes about leadership, why he left academia, and why they love essay collections.

Get the book here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250858641/the-end-of-solitude

Show Notes:

The Chronicle of Higher Education: William Deresiewicz – “The End of Solitude”
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-end-of-solitude/

Unherd: William Deresiewicz – “Escaping American tribalism”
https://unherd.com/2022/03/escaping-american-tribalism/

Law & Liberty: Theodore Dalrymple – “A Lament for the Lost University”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/a-lament-for-the-lost-university/

Quillette: William Deresiewicz – “Why I Left Academia (Since You're Wondering)”
https://quillette.com/2022/08/17/why-i-left-academia-since-youre-wondering/

From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology (Guest: Donald L. Drakeman) Jan 12, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Donald L. Drakeman, Fellow in Operations and Technology Management at the Cambridge Judge Business School, Distinguished Research Professor in the Program on Constitutional Studies at the University of Notre Dame, and a Venture Partner at Advent Life Sciences,to discuss his new book (co-authored with Lisa Drakeman and Nektarios Oraiopoulos), From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology. They chat about how medical innovation happens, specifically how biotech companies have created 40 percent more of the most important treatments for previously unmet medical needs than the major pharmaceutical companies at a lower cost. Benson and Drakeman also discuss the crucial roles played by academic research, venture capital, contract research organizations, the capital markets, and the pharmaceutical companies in creating medical breakthroughs.

Get the book here: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/from-breakthrough-to-blockbuster-9780195084009?cc=us&lang=en&

Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America's Natural Governing Party (Guest: F.H. Buckley) Jan 03, 2023

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by F.H. Buckley, Foundation Professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School,to discuss his new book, Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America's Natural Governing Party. They chat about what Buckley means exactly by “progressive conservative,” why the Republican Party must return to its roots as a progressive conservative party, and why the GOP must reject the illiberalism of extremists on the Right as well as the Left.

Get the book here: https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/progressive-conservatism/

Show Notes:

Law & Liberty: George Hawley – “The Mythical Progressive-Conservative Voter”
https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-mythical-progressive-conservative-voter/

Law & Liberty: F.H. Buckley – “The Permanence of Progressive Conservatism”

https://lawliberty.org/the-permanence-of-progressive-conservatism/

National Affairs: F.H. Buckley – “The Next Republican Party”

https://www.nationalaffairs.com/publications/detail/the-next-republican-party

Spectator World: William Murchison – “Frank Buckley’s right direction”

https://thespectator.com/book-and-art/the-right-direction-progressive-conservatism/

Washington Times: Brandon J. Weichert – “BOOK REVIEW: Progressive Conservatism: How Republicans Will Become America’s Natural Governing Party”

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/jul/21/book-review-progressive-conservatism-how-republica/

In Defense of German Colonialism (Guest: Bruce Gilley) Dec 14, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Bruce Gilley, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at Portland State University,to discuss his new book, In Defense of German Colonialism: And How Its Critics Empowered Nazis, Communists, and the Enemies of the West. They chat about the reasons why Gilley contends German colonialism was overall a force for good in the world, how development was encouraged and native governance flourished, and why critics of German colonialism helped destabilize the country and played into the hands of the Nazis and communists.

Get the book here: https://www.regnery.com/9781684512379/in-defense-of-german-colonialism/

Show Notes:

Law & Liberty: Jesse Russell – “Colonialism Reconsidered”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/colonialism-reconsidered/

A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland (Guest: Troy Senik) Dec 07, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Troy Senik, cofounder of Kite & Key,to discuss his new book, “A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland.” They chat about Cleveland’s meteoric political career and how his stubbornness and his incorruptibility became the key to his political appeal, as well as to his political fall. They also place the context behind Cleveland’s frequent yielding of the veto pen, discuss whether the personal scandals that dogged him were true, and if there are any lessons his presidency can offer us in the 21st Century.

Get the book here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/A-Man-of-Iron/Troy-Senik/9781982140748

Show Notes:

City Journal: Stephen Eide – “Ironbound Liberalism”

https://www.city-journal.org/review-of-a-man-of-iron-by-troy-senik

Law & Liberty: Paul Moreno – “The Last President Worth Voting For?”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-last-president-worth-voting-for/

National Review: Colin Dueck – “Not Over Grover: Reconsidering Cleveland”

https://www.nationalreview.com/2022/10/not-over-grover-reconsidering-cleveland/

The Wall Street Journal: Roger Lowenstein – “‘A Man of Iron’ Review: Grover Cleveland, Honest to a Fault”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-man-of-iron-book-review-biography-grover-cleveland-honest-to-a-fault-11663340565

Washington Free Beacon: Tevi Troy – “Cleveland Rocks”

https://freebeacon.com/politics/cleveland-rocks/

The Man Who Understood Democracy: The Life of Alexis de Tocqueville (Guest: Olivier Zunz) Dec 01, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Olivier Zunz, the James Madison Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Virginia,to discuss his new book, The Man Who Understood Democracy: The Life of Alexis de Tocqueville. They chat about Tocqueville’s dedication to achieving a new kind of democracy at the center of his life and work, why America remained central to his thought and actions throughout his life, and his fears that the democratic experiment might yet fail. They also discuss his harrowing family story, his commitment to abolitionism, and his attempts to apply the lessons of Democracy in America to French politics.

Get the book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691173979/the-man-who-understood-democracy

Show Notes:

Commentary: Michael M. Rosen – “Citizen Tocqueville”

https://www.commentary.org/articles/michael-rosen/tocqueville-democracy/

The Hedgehog Review: Jay Tolson – “Following Alexis de Tocqueville: A Conversation with Historian and Biographer Olivier Zunz”

https://hedgehogreview.com/issues/the-use-and-abuse-of-history/articles/following-alexis-de-tocqueville-a-conversation-with-historian-and-biographer-olivier-zunz

Law & Liberty: Theodore Dalrymple – “The Life of Democracy's Interpreter”

https://lawliberty.org/book-review/the-life-of-democracys-interpreter/

Library of America: “Olivier Zunz on Alexis de Tocqueville, ‘The Man Who Understood Democracy’”

https://www.loa.org/news-and-views/1969-olivier-zunz-on-alexis-de-tocqueville-the-man-who-understood-democracy

Literary Review: Alan Ryan – “Oui, the People”

https://literaryreview.co.uk/oui-the-people

The New York Review of Books: Lynn Hunt – “‘A Great Democratic Revolution’”

https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/12/08/a-great-democratic-revolution-alexis-de-tocqueville/

Times Literary Supplement: Stephen W. Sawyer – “He chose democracy”

https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-man-who-understood-democracy-olivier-zunz-book-review-stephen-w-sawyer/

The Wall Street Journal: Barton Swaim – “‘The Man Who Understood Democracy’ Review: Tocqueville’s Dilemma”

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-man-who-understood-democracy-book-review-history-politics-notes-from-america-11651245341

Victory at Sea: Naval Power and the Transformation of the Global Order in World War II (Guest: Paul Kennedy) Nov 29, 2022

Show notes

Heartland’s Tim Benson is joined by Paul Kennedy, J. Richardson Dilworth Professor of History at Yale University, to discuss his new book, Victory at Sea: Naval Power and the Transformation of the Global Order in World War II. They chat about the six major naval powers of the war and their individual strengths, weaknesses, and challenges, and how the war was won and lost in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Mediterranean. They also talk about how the strategic landscape for naval affairs was completely altered by the war and the rise of American economic and military hegemony.
Get the book here: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300219173/victory-at-sea/
Show Notes:
Engelsberg Ideas: Lincoln Paine – “A marriage of the geopolitical, the military and the material”
https://engelsbergideas.com/books/a-marriage-of-the-geopolitical-the-military-and-the-material-victory-at-sea-naval-power-and-the-transformation-of-the-global-order-in-world-war-ii-by-paul-kennedy-review/
Foreign Policy: Alexander Wooley – “The Navy Made America a Superpower Once. Can It Again?”
https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/05/30/us-navy-victory-at-sea-review-paul-kennedy-history/
The New Criterion: Jeremy Black – “A new ruler of the waves”
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2022/9/a-new-ruler-of-the-waves
The Sunday Times: Max Hastings – “Victory at Sea by Paul Kennedy review — did the navy win the Second World War?”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/victory-at-sea-by-paul-kennedy-review-did-the-navy-win-the-second-world-war-bd7tft0l9
Wall Street Journal: Brendan Simms – “‘Victory at Sea’ Review: Ruling the Waves in World War II”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/victory-at-sea-book-review-ruling-the-waves-in-world-war-ii-11650634290
Washington Free Beacon: Mike Watson – “How We Achieved Naval Supremacy—And How We Could Lose It”
https://freebeacon.com/culture/how-we-achieved-naval-supremacy-and-how-we-could-lose-it/
Washington Post: Robert D. Kaplan – “How the naval battles of World War II reshaped the global order”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/05/20/how-naval-battles-world-war-ii-reshaped-global-order/

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