One for the humor/irony file: I just came across this review for Brave New World on Amazon.com:
Reviewer: A reader from Elmwood Park, Illinois United States
While cultural pundits try to convince you that some literature is better than ther literature, the truth is that all art is relative to individial tastes. Thus, it doesn't take any sense to think that a novel like this one is really any better than say, Michael Crichton or Stephen King. Aesthetic standards can't be grounded.Thus, don't listen to anyone who tries to distinguish between "serious" works of literature like this one and allegedly "lesser" novels. The distinction is entirely illusory, because no novels are "better" than any others, and the concept of a "great novel" is an intellectual hoax.
I prefer books with red covers. You may say the color of the book's cover has nothing to do with it being good, but who are you to dictate what criteria I use to evaluate books. This book does NOT have a red cover, so in the trash it goes.
After each full day of skiing during the last week, I recovered my body by exercising my mind � notably by reading The Ominous Parallels. Here is the review I submitted to Amazon.com afterwards:
As a Jew, I have watched, read, and visited countless accounts of the Holocaust � but not one of them correctly identified the ideas that brought it about or the ideas that will prevent it from happening again. In some cases, I was first shocked by the accounts of survivors and then horrified when they offered as a solution the same ideas that created the Nazis.
�The Ominous Parallels� finally exposes the cause and answer to Fascism. Dr. Peikoff presents a compelling and cogent thesis on the evil of collectivism in terms of the fundamental ideas that shape our history by masterfully analyzing the intellectual and cultural climate that led to the Holocaust and its parallels to today�s America. Along the way, he outlines the development of Western philosophy � from the glorious creation of the United States to the rise of skepticism, pragmatism, collectivism, and the Weimar culture. Broad philosophical, political, and cultural trends are analyzed and dissected according to their basic premises, as you will never hear in a history class.
Both those well read in and new to the philosophy of Objectivism will find this book accessible and the arguments reasoned out and supported by numerous examples. This is not light reading, however� I spent as much time pausing to digest and integrate the ideas in this book as I did reading it. Those unfamiliar with Objectivism may have some difficulty connecting the author�s asides on abortion, physics, and religion to the central theme, but it does not detract from the overall message.
As Dr Peikoff states, it is impossible to predict the future or know whether the Holocaust will repeat itself � but it is certain that only by understanding and adopting a proper philosophy can America survive as a free country. If this book succeeds in teaching the world about the importance of ideas, then six million shall not have died in vain.