• "Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued.... Woods has opened up an area of historical analysis that should invite further study."
    -Journal of American History

  • "During these times that challenge our freedoms there is no one more qualified to make U.S. history relevant to the fight against big government than Thomas Woods."
    -Barry Goldwater Jr.
    Former Member of Congress

  • "I strongly recommend Woods's work."
    -The Honorable Ron Paul,
    U.S. House of Representatives

  • "Written with great clarity and fluency, making the complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable."
    -Journal of American Studies

  • "A must-read."
    -Barron's

  • "An excellent reading source for anyone interested in financial markets, and much more so for anyone interested in learning about capitalism without all the misinterpretations being thrown about in the financial media."
    -Asia Times

  • "Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read."
    -Catholic Historical Review

  • "An engaging and important contribution to scholarship on the history of American Catholicism."
    -Journal of the Historical Society

  • "Woods and [co-author Kevin] Gutzman appeal to both left and right in this constitutionalist jeremiad…. The authors' exegeses of the Constitution and court decisions, heavy on original intent arguments, are lucid and telling."
    -Publishers Weekly

  • "A marvelous read. Every chapter taught me something new and unexpected."
    -Tom Bethell, senior editor,
    The American Spectator

  • "The hottest book today is Meltdown, by my friend Tom Woods."
    -Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst,
    FOX News Channel

  • "Should be required reading."
    -Economic Affairs (London)

  • "Woods, one of the best classical liberal [libertarian] scholars of his generation, has once more placed us in his debt with this lucid and tightly argued book."
    -David Gordon, The Mises Review

  • "Tom Woods is one of my dearest allies in the struggle against wrong-headed and dangerous economic policy."
    -Peter Schiff

“Glenn Beck Should Revere Theodore Roosevelt”

That’s the creepy title of a Newsmax article taking Glenn Beck to task for being critical of Teddy Roosevelt.  Read the article for yourself. It’s written at a third-grade level, and amounts to a list of standard leftist assertions that “most reasonable Americans” agree with.  (Remember, Newsmax is a “conservative” publication.)  The author is charmingly unaware of the existing literature on antitrust and what it says about TR’s arbitrary behavior.  Instead, the entire discussion amounts to: why, there were Robber Barons out there!  Really, the whole article is like this.

For an antidote, see my review of Jim Powell’s book Bully Boy: The Truth About Theodore Roosevelt’s Legacy.  (For whatever reason, Powell’s books are written in extremely dull prose, and thus they have not been read as often as their content would justify.)

  • Mhstahl

    Dr. Woods,

    What a testament to the ignorance, and bovine dullness, of Newsmax readers! Seemingly its writers feel no need present coherent arguments, and feel licensed to shade reality with rhetorical gimmickry. Shameful.

    That said, there is indeed something of a grain of truth in the article, Roosevelt(both of them, frankly) was indeed a political descendant of Lincoln. If I learn Beck has criticized HIM, I might find a bit of respect for him….I will also anticipate a blue sun.

  • http://www.jonesfamily.us/politics Ron Jones

    It always seems that the advocates of central planning and collectivism are better funded, and more effectively packaged & sold to the public. A public which is easily convinced of the evils of big corporations, yet seemingly unable to grasp the Siamese connection between big government and big finance.

    Follow the money is profound and pithy, yet it is obviously just a bumper sticker slogan that no one actually stops to consider.

    Mhstahl, while I agree that many Newsmax readers are ignorant, in that they are unaware of the truth, I would disagree with your assertion that reading Newsmax is indicative of “bovine dullness.”

    You see, like many newsmax readers, I grew up steeped in republicanism…when such was marketed as smaller government, lower taxes, and more freedom.

    I was once a dyed-in-the-wool Reaganite schlub. I voted republican, and I believed in that “shining city on a hill” with such republican fervor that I joined the Marine Corps and spent 9 years in the Infantry.

    There were two things that started me down the path to ‘political enlightenment’ (if there can be such a thing):

    The first, was Operation “Desert Fox,” in which I took part as a member of 2nd Battallion, 4th Marines. We took to calling it “Operation Monica Fox,” because our real purpose was obvious to the troops on the ground.

    Second, and even more moving, was “A Century of War” by John V. Denson. This book started me down a path of discovery which forced me to reexamine my entire political orientation. If you know any military men, please give them a copy.

    It is easy to assume a lack of intellect on the part of those who don’t share your viewpoint. But if we are to have any hope at all of breaking free from the broken system under which we labor today…we’ve got to “win the hearts and minds” of the natives. We can only do that by starting from a position with which they can agree, and proceed from there…rather than demeaning them at every opportunity.

    See “Influence: Science and Practice” by Robert Cialdini.

  • http://www.thomasewoods.com Tom Woods

    Ron, I agree with you completely. I always try to reach these people, of whom I used to be one.

  • Eric

    What Ron and Tom just said is a great point. Many people in the freedom movement, including Lew Rockwell sometimes on his blog, make the mistake of writing various people off because – while they may have some good libertarian leanings – they hold some stupid neocon views.

    Newsmax readers, Glenn Beck and Palin fans are exactly the sort of people we should be reaching out to.

    A few years ago I was a Bush/Cheney/Hannity neocon. It was only because of the tireless work of Ron Paul, Tom Woods and others that I heard an alternative view and came around.

  • John

    Eric, I wouldn’t put Beck in the same grouping as Palin and Newsmax. He has clearly been reading up on history and economics, unlike someone like Palin who sounds like a broken record and speaks in annoying talking points all the time.

    It wasn’t long ago when Beck had a whole episode slamming the US military for its overspending and adventures in Latin America and elsewhere. And who else in the mainstream media constantly goes on about the early 20th century progressive movement? He even calls Bush a progressive, which is something I’m sure the rest wouldn’t dare say – Palin would probably call Bush a “common sense conservative” arghhhh.

    Beck’s not perfect by any means, but he’s learning (and weren’t many of us at his stage at some point?) Having Napolitano near him must be rubbing off!