Intellectuals and Society

Let me start by first taking issue with the reviewer that gave this book a single star review. I suspect that the author of that review either didn't read the book or simply shut his mind off during the first chapter, where Mr. Thomas Sowell clearly defines what he means by Intellectuals. We could postulate that all intelligent people that effectively use their minds in the pursuit of their professions, be them scientists,... Read Full Review

Dr. Sowell has written a very interesting and informative book about intellectuals and their role and effect in society. Sowell defines an intellectual as someone who works in ideas. According to Dr. Sowell persons in such mentally demanding occupations as medicine and engineering are not intellectuals because these occupations are result driven. The fault line is that such occupations are subject to external criteria of... Read Full Review

Another feather in the cap of the aggresive conservative wave of authors. While most liberals have spent much of the past decade writing blistering criticisms of a single war not yet concluded, Sowell pours more energy yet into the conservative command of economics and rational thought on society, ethics, and tradition. Reading his work, I truly believe that Sowell would have found a place at any of the Founders' tables... Read Full Review

A book with the title Intellectuals and Society can be expected to range widely, and Thomas Sowell's latest does not disappoint, covering ground from economics to criminology and foreign policy. In each area, Mr. Sowell's complaint is that intellectuals -- "people whose occupations deal primarily with ideas - writers, academics, and the like" - are having negative effects. And, maddeningly, these intellectuals are "unaccountable... Read Full Review