The Gist: Precedent versus original public meaning.

A partial review of Pieces of Eight, Constitutional Money, and Money, Free and Unfree.

The Gist: Constitutional money was “temporarily” abandoned during the Civil War and has yet to return.

A partial review of Pieces of Eight, Constitutional Money, and Money, Free and Unfree.

The Gist: In the republic’s early years, cash was provided not by the government but by banks.

A partial review of Pieces of Eight, Constitutional Money, and Money, Free and Unfree.

The Gist: Why the Founders thought of money itself as a vital check and balance against the abuse of power.

A partial review of Pieces of Eight, Constitutional Money, and Money, Free and Unfree.

The Gist: As you plan your wedding, elevate the higher purpose and your particular priorities. Relax about everything else.

A recounting of my own experience and a review of A Practical Wedding and Man Nup.

The Gist: Due diligence before “I do”.

A review of multiple books and sources, including Things I WIsh I’d Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman

The Gist: Get intentional about the most important decision in your life.

The first of a three-part exploration of the marriage mindset.

The Gist: Honestly appreciate people.

A review of How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

The Gist: How computer programs can make a better you.

A review of Algorithms To Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths.

The Gist: What happens if kids have no curriculum at all?

A review of multiple books, most notably Unschooled by Kerry McDonald.

The Gist: “Kids need responsibility more than they deserve it”.

A review of The Self Driven Child by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, and the Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt.

The Gist: Individualized attention and pacing through a customized curriculum to achieve, on average, higher academic performance.

A newsletter inspired by Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto.

The Gist: 4 ways that conservatives might handle monetary policy to grow the economy and limit government.

The Gist: How the ideas of free market capitalism triumphed over Marx and might still over Keynes.

A review of Vienna & Chicago by Mark Skousen.

The Gist: You’ll eventually recover from a crash. Not so much from confiscation, inflation, deflation, and devastation.

A review of Deep Risk by William Bernstein.

The Gist: How to make college much cheaper and better.

The Gist: The ten best books I read in 2020.

The Gist:  How the Oracle of Omaha refined his investment strategy to become a billionaire.

The second of a two-part review of multiple Buffett biographies.

The Gist: The origin story of an investing superhero.

The first of a two-part review of multiple Buffett biographies.

The Gist: Turn bondholders into loan sharks.

A partial review of 10% Less Democracy by Garett Jones.

The Gist: Who benefits – and who suffers – from immigration to the U.S.

A review of We Wanted Workers by George Borjas.

The Gist: How the awesome Margaret Thatcher lost power.

The third of a three-part review of Charles Moore’s three volume biography of Margaret Thatcher, ending with Herself Alone.

The Gist: How the awesome Margaret Thatcher wielded power.

The second of a three-part review of Charles Moore’s three volume biography of Margaret Thatcher, the middle book being Everything She Wants.

The Gist: How the awesome Margaret Thatcher rose to power.

The first of a three-part review of Charles Moore’s three volume biography of Margaret Thatcher, beginning with Not for Turning.

The Gist: Money actually can buy happiness – and pretty cheaply – if it is spent on certain non-things.

A review of multiple books, most notably Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robins.

The Gist: An exploration of an investor’s most important decision – how much to put where.

A review of multiple books, most notably William Bernstein’s Four Pillars of Investing

The Gist: A tribute to the boring, brilliant, passive, and profitable index fund.

A review of multiple books, most notably index pioneer John Bogle’s The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.

The Gist: 7 specific, escalating steps to spend less time with your favorite screen.

The second of a two-part review of multiple books, most notably Tech-Wise Family.

The Gist: Tech is designed to distract you from your priorities.

The first of a two-part review of multiple books, most notably Stand Out of Out Light by James Williams.

The Gist:  Much less than you’d think.

A review of The Rise and Fall of American Growth by Robert Gordon.

The Gist: America was founded by free trade radicals in a costly revolution.

A review of Clashing over Commerce by Douglas A. Irwin.

The Gist:  Scalia argues that judges should interpret what the Constitution said, not what they want today.

A review of A Matter of Interpretation by Antonin Scalia.

The Gist:  Nearly all dictators’ children take advantage of their status, often in defiance of the stated motivating ideology of the regime, sometimes in defiance of basic human decency.

A review of Children of Monsters by Jay Nordlinger.

The Gist: How to choose a book to read. Steal authors’ time, and be mindful of whose time you’re stealing and how much. Score books to find more like you like, less like you dislike.

The Gist:  The best advice from a half dozen books on public speaking

A review of The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie, among others.

The Gist: 100 years ago, Congress voted for Prohibition. 14 years later, they voted for Repeal. It might not have happened but for the Great Depression and the inflexibility of Prohibitionists.

Part 2 of a review of Prohibition: a Concise History by W.J. Rorabaugh and Last Call by Daniel Okrent.

The Gist: 100 years ago, Congress voted to ban America’s 5th largest industry (and the source of ~40% of government revenue). It took a cultural movement, an income tax, women getting the vote, and World War I.

Part 1 of a review of Prohibition: a Concise History by W.J. Rorabaugh and Last Call by Daniel Okrent.

The Gist: How the U.S. Navy deep state defied the Constitution to pursue defeat of Japan.

A review of Execute Against Japan by Joel Ira Holwitt.

The Gist: People feel love in different ways.

A review of The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman.

The Gist: Don’t trust Congress – they raid funds, their cost estimates are atrocious, and their promises of future restraint are lies.

A review of The High Cost of Good Intentions by John Cogan.

The Gist: Federal entitlements have routinely punished work and marriage while displacing community help.

A review of The High Cost of Good Intentions by John Cogan.

The Gist: 2 of 3 of your federal tax-dollars are spent on entitlements. It all started in 1776…

A review of The High Cost of Good Intentions by John Cogan.

The Gist:  Success may be more random than we’d like to think.

A review of Fooled By Randomness by Nicholas Taleb.

The Gist: How the British Empire wrestled with decline.

A review of The Weary Titan by Aaron Friedberg.

The Gist: Why having kids is better for YOU.

A review of Selfish Reasons To Have More Kids by Bryan Caplan.

The Gist: Schedule date nights with your spouse as soon and as often as possible.

A review of What to Expect When No Ones Expecting by Jonathan Last.

The Gist: Conventional school teaches disturbingly little worthwhile.

A review of Bryan Caplan’s the Case Against Education.

The Gist: The scourge of piracy was ultimately defeated by punishment swift, certain, and severe.

The first of a three part  review of The Invisible Hook by Peter Leeson and Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly.

The Gist: Pirates self-governed through – surprise! – constitutional democracy

The second of a three part  review of The Invisible Hook by Peter Leeson and Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly.

The Gist: Ninjas don’t get company stock, health insurance, or even a fraction of the pirate benefit package.

The first of a three part  review of The Invisible Hook by Peter Leeson and Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly.

The Gist: 4 ways that conservatives might handle monetary policy to grow the economy and limit government.

The Gist: Money actually can buy happiness – and pretty cheaply – if it is spent on certain non-things.

A review of multiple books, most notably Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robins.

The Gist:  Scalia argues that judges should interpret what the Constitution said, not what they want today.

A review of A Matter of Interpretation by Antonin Scalia.

The Gist:  The best advice from a half dozen books on public speaking

A review of The Quick and Easy Way to Effective Speaking by Dale Carnegie, among others.

The Gist: Conventional school teaches disturbingly little worthwhile.

A review of Bryan Caplan’s the Case Against Education.