Bill Whittle, one of my favorite internet essayists, has a new book out entitled, Silent America: Essays From a Democracy at War. It’s a hard copy edition of some of his best essays, available for for only $29.95 plus S&H. Perfect for Christmas!

If you want to read the online versions, here are the links to the individual chapters:

Honor
Freedom
Empire
War
Courage
Confidence
History
Victory
Magic
Trinity (Part 1)
Trinity (Part 2)
Responsibility
Power
Strength (Part 1)
Strength (Part 2)
Deterrence (Part 1)
Deterrence (Part 2)

Whittle is not an Objectivist, and I don’t agree with everything he says. But I find his writing thought-provoking and inspiring, both for the actual content of his arguments as well as the underlying optimistic American sense of life.

As a supporter of the 2nd Amendment, I especially liked “Freedom“. For a fun discussion of capitalism in America, read “Trinity“. For an essentialized analysis of our great political divide, read “Responsibility“. And for some good counterweights to the conventional wisdom promulgated by the mainstream press on America’s role in the world (in general) and the Iraq War (in particular), read “Empire“, “War“,”Strength” and “Deterrence“.