Pun Salad

It's a shame that I didn't read this book when it was new, but better late than never. Subtitled "Competition vs. Coddling and the Battle for the Nation's Future", it sets up a neat dichotomy. On one hand we have the results-oriented, sharp-eyed, fast-moving "Hard"; on the other, we have the touchy-feely, sentimental, compassionate, it's-all-good "Soft". Mr. Barone ranges wide on this topic, showing how it explains things in diverse areas like finance, education, welfare, and military policy. Barone isn't without sympathy for "Soft America" but he's clear that most of the activity that makes the US healthy, wealthy, and wise is on the Hard side.

The book is relatively short and easy to read, and ages well. Although it was written after the start of the Iraq invasion, and before the 2004 elections, most of the examples still ring true.