Rating: 
Summary: A surprised conservative
Review: Although I have read articles by Larry Elder for the past year I did not realize he was a libertarian. In this book, Mr. Elder describes several divisive areas in an easy to read and understand approach. His perspective as a hard working, intelligent, no nonsense guy is balanced nicely with antidotes from situations in his life.
The chapters on racism expose problems and issues from both sides of the equation. Yet this does not slide into a negative finger-pointing situation, instead Mr. Elder uses hard numbers and examples to get the reader past the emotional reaction.
I do not agree with the libertarian position on several issues; however, this book has made me realize that I have more areas that I agree with then disagree with.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Finally someone tell it like it is. I honestly wish there were more black people like Larry Elder who is not afraid to speak the truth unstead of hiding behind the "white man oppression"
Rating:
Summary: Speak the truth.
Review: Speak the truth and let the chips fall where they may.Elder confronts the sacred cows of PC belief head on. He takes on racism, sexism, the medical industrial complex, the decline of marriage, the liberal media, and other "unspeakable" topics without flinching. He describes going to a library in a poor section of LA. Outside several "oppressed" youth are skateboarding on the sloped landscaping. Inside only Korean kids study, not a single "oppressed" minority kid. The largest part of the book is about the black racism and black victimology, combined with white condescension. Elder well describes how these forces combine to keep so many blacks from achieving decent lives. Elder goes on to confront the myth of the "Glass Ceiling" and the faux medical crisis. He shows how these myths create huge problems for society with their lies and faux victims. Other topics where "what everyone knows" is ripped apart are the war on drugs, gun control, the welfare state. Neither is Elder just spewing a republican or democratic view. One chapter is entitled "There isn't a dime's worth of difference" and he blasts both parties for failing utterly to address any of the most important social issues of our time. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but perhaps that is because I agree with Elder on virtually ever issue. I don't know if anyone who wants to continue believing the status quo cultural myths will read and learn, but they ought to.
Rating: 
Summary: Freedom 101
Review: Since I live in Massachusetts, it took me awhile to hear about Larry Elder, so this book was actually my introduction to his beliefs. But man, what an introduction. "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America" is a systematic, all-out assault on the Marxist super-state that America is quickly becoming. Like Rush Limbaugh before him, Elder does have a bit of a tendency toward polemic and fuzzy generalization (he is a radio show host, after all), but his incendiary writing style is ideal for entertaining while it enlightens. With the relentless logic of the trained lawyer that he is, and drawing on sources ranging from Booker T. Washington to Milton Friedman to Chris Rock, Elder pokes holes in a series of leftist dogmas. Many of the themes laid out in Thomas Sowell's classic "The Vision of the Anointed" are echoed here, and Elder peppers his assaults on the liberal vision with plenty of personal anecdotes and hard facts that you won't find on the network news. If there's one idea that's repeated throughout this book, it's the superiority of free markets to political measures in dealing with the "problems" faced in America today. Racism and sexism? Blacks and women don't need anti-discrimination laws, they just need to make it unprofitable to discriminate against them. Health care? If there's a crisis, it's because government regulation has distorted incentives and interfered with supply and demand. The Drug War? Government has created a drug problem out of thin air by creating a black market. Illegitimacy? It's our country's biggest problem, and the government has created it through a welfare state that subsidizes irresponsibility with the tax dollars of the responsible. The political left has gotten away with this craziness, according to Elder, because they're firmly in control of the government and the media. As anyone who pays attention knows by now, the Republican and Democratic parties are virtually indistinguishable, with both sides willingly participating in the steady advance of socialism in America. Elder sarcastically (and hilariously) sums up the differences between the parties by noting that the Republicans want to take a pocketknife to a problem requiring a machete, while Democrats don't even think there's a problem. And of course, the media can be counted on to advance the big-government agenda every chance they get. The media's leftist bias has been noted over and over, but some of Elder's revelations are still surprising as he describes just how much the media tries to twist the national debate on issues ranging from the welfare state to race relations to gun control. If there's any one chapter in this book that resonates most, it would have to the one with the attention-grabbing title "Gun Control Advocates-Good Guys With Blood on Their Hands." It's virtually impossible to get straight talk on this issue from the maintream media (as Elder painstakingly illustrates), but Elder presents an avalanche of facts to prove that government restrictions on gun ownership increase crime at the same time as they decrease freedom. And as he points out, those in favor of gun control have to get by a little thing known as the Second Amendment. Elder obviously gives our founding fathers a bit more credit than the political left does. While "The Ten Things You Can't Say in America" is by no means a scholarly work, it's nonetheless very useful in drawing attention to the liberal fallacies that many people have come to take for granted. On every subject Elder addresses, he illuminates the underlying truth and strikes a convincing blow for freedom and honesty. Elder's treatment of the issues confronting America in the 21st century is wide-ranging, approachable, and eminently sensible. Let the debate begin.
Rating:
Summary: Loaded with cool tidbits and facts
Review: This book is great. A must have to use as a reference book because there are numerous quotes that are hard to find elsewhere. Elder devotes much of the book to issue of racism (the first chapter takes up about a 1/4 of the books space.) But Elder ties it in wonderfully with other issues he touches upon. Try the book. Read it if you are liberal with an open mind, you might be suprised about what you learn.
Rating: 
Summary: Better Than Most Similar Titles
Review: I give Elder credit for not resorting to the blatant misrepresentations and outright fabrications frequently utilized by Coulter, D'Souza, and other popular conservative writers. However, he still fails to make his case, often citing questionable sources, making unsupported assertions, substituting anecdotes for evidence, and making huge leaps of logic that could be picked apart by any first-year philosophy student.
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