Rating: 
Summary: Self-righteousness not uniquely "liberal"
Review: Viewed as a satire on "progressives", this book is often painfully accurate and sometimes very funny. But Tom Wolfe has done it better. Viewed as a serious attack on welfare state liberals/social democrats, though, I think it fails.In America today, it is usually the right, both free market and evangelical, that has abandoned the tragic sense of human imperfectibility. Worship of technology and progress and belief in policies that have benefits and no costs, not to mention self-righteousness are surely common in conservative circles. Sowell is very perceptive about the motes in liberal eyes, but misses the beams in conservative ones. The heart of the progressive agenda -- redistributive taxes, publicly-funded social insurance, laws against private discrimination and a role for government regulation, freedom to determine one's personal life -- has to be leavened by a respect for market processes and inherited social custom. For the most part, left-wing parties throughout the world have started to do this. Progressives shouldn't assume that everyone who disagrees with them is stupid or evil. But neither should conservatives act as if their enemies are all as self-satisfied and mush-headed as the Baldwin brothers.
Rating: 
Summary: A Delightful Dethroning of our Saviors (a/k/a the Anointed)
Review: Sowell must have written this book with tongue in cheek. Of course, the subject matter is perfectly serious. But Sowell has a profound wit that penetrates into the heart of the liberal ideology. One might even consider it a psychoanalysis of the liberal mentality. But whatever one calls it, there can be no doubt about its poignancy and accuracy. A lot of what Sowell says is something that many of the "benighted" know but have been unable to cohere or articulate. Sowell fills this gap by making sense of it all. One is left with not only a clear sense of what the "vision of the anointed" is, but also what motivates those holding the vision. Liberals will no doubt find this book to be galling if not for its pricking accuracy, then for Sowell's attempt to deconstruct the liberal psyche. After all, nobody likes to be analyzed by others, especially when the analysis points out that we are self-righteous, self-absorbed, condescending, and full of hubris. As someone who has observed liberals for a long time, including my own journey into and out of the liberal faith, I can attest to what Sowell describes. But if all Sowell did were write a description, this book would be of little value. The value comes from Sowell himself - his organization of the presentation and especially the style of his delivery. In short, coherent and articulate. This book is a must read for conservatives. You will be satisfied to finally have a resource that makes sense of it all. Where do liberals come from? What do they believe? Why do they believe? What motivates them? Why do they say and do certain things? Why are they wrong so often? All of these questions and more are answered in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Essential reading in American political philosophy
Review: This book concerns the 200-year struggle between the two opposing political philosophies in America, which Sowell calls the "Vision of the Annointed" and the "Tragic Vision." After an early section, which is guaranteed to raise the hackles of neo-leftists (by giving some very clear examples of the errors generated by the title philosophy), it gives a very good analysis of the two philosophies.
Rating:
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: What Sowell does is take left-wing dogma and dissect it. He shows how it is driven by emotion rather than reason. He shows how liberals close their minds to alternative points of view and to the unintended consequences of their policies. While conservatives also can be emotional and dogmatic, this book describes a syndrome among liberals that I have encountered quite frequently. Even if you are a committed liberal, you could benefit from reading this book to see how you come across to those with whom you disagree. I read this book several years ago, and ever since I have found myself saying, "There is an example of what Sowell is talking about." Whether it is the judge in the Microsoft antitrust trial, or the anti-WTO demonstrators in Seattle, or the parents at my local high school, Sowell has described the pattern of beliefs formed by emotion, arrogance, and minds that are closed to facts. I really like books that expose fuzzy, emotional biases. On the left, I like Wendy Kaminer. On the right, this book is one of the better examples, perhaps the best. This book can justly be called a classic.
Rating: 
Summary: Very insightful
Review: I found this book very insightful in the respect of clarifying what the driving force is behind our suicidal society. I found Mr. Sowell's definition of the very real phenomenon of the leftward media bias particularly profound. He states that the "vision of the anointed" is the easy and emotionally vain and that it is more readily dramatized (and profitable)than the truth. I think however that some of the statistics cited were, at times, tangential to the thought. Having read other similar books, notably Slouching Towards Gemorrah by Robert Bork, may have already exposed me to the facts that I found leading off the path, thus seeming redundant. Overall a very good read with much to consider.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent analysis of public policy
Review: I find this book very useful in classroom discussion. Sowell has hit the nail on the head. One of the most important contributions of the decade.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Funny Book!
Review: Sowell is the only person I know who could say that Ronald Reagan has "a tragic view of life" and keep a straight face. Believe me, this book is hysterical. Don't miss it. Of course it's biased and unbalanced, but so is Dave Barry. (I have to admit that Barry is a lot funnier than Sowell, but Barry doesn't pretend to be a serious social critic.)
Rating:
Summary: A must.
Review: A rigorous and vigorous book. Sowell does repeat himself a bit in it, but his analysis is keen. Should be required reading in all colleges. (Like that would happen.) (As for reader Otto's objections, he once again falls into the very rhetoric that Sowell condemns--i.e., "tax burdens are hardest on the poor and middle class"--without evidence offered. Sowell's only problem with the chart on the Reagan budgets in an admittedly shorthand chapter is that he does not adjust for inflation.) Read this book and learn.
Rating:
Summary: An authoritative insight into the liberal mind
Review: I had long been a fan of economist and columnist Thomas Sowell when I bought this book. I greatly appreciate, especially coming from a black man, his precise analysis of why liberal politics and practices have been an utter failure in the area of liberating minorities from, what is portrayed by popular thought, the evils of capitalism. The very ones who have profited most from capitalist economics denounce it as the best means for minorities to rise from depression because they have "annointed" themselves as the intellectual and morally superior ones from whom all proper goverenment should flow. That's because you, who only care about your own survival, can't be relied upon to make the correct political decisions for everyone else. Only they have the "vision" to do so.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Right on! The only person who could disagree with this book is one of the "anointed".
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