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Summary: Larry "The Truth" Elder
Review: Whatever you think of Larry's opinions, he does not put them out there without backing them up with fact and reasoned argument. I detested political correctness even before there was a name for it and saw it as an insidious movement that surpresses speech, dialogue and ultimately free thought. Larry takes apart political correctness and contemporary liberal doctrine generally, and does so without directing personal attacks at his oponents. This is especially admirable since his opponents often content themselves by calling Larry a few inflamatory names while never addressing his arguments. Larry Elder is an important voice and makes a lot of sense. My hope is that people like him - though he's not a Republican - will influence the Republican party to abandon "cultural conservatism" and shift towards a more Libertarian form of conservatism.
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Summary: Hard to argue with him
Review: It's certainly hard to argue with Larry Elder's The Ten Things You Can't Say in America. Every assertion he makes is backed up by facts, statistics and compelling anecdotes (including one of my own). Very fast and revealing read.If I have a criticism it's that Larry writes like he talks. If you are familiar with his radio show, you can actually hear him as you read.
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Summary: Intriguing Ideas We Don't Hear Much About
Review: Having picked up Elder's book because of the inflammatory title, I was quickly surprised to find a documented, common-sense approach to many problems in the country that aren't documented even-handedly, if mentioned at all. Elder takes aim at racism, feminism, gun control, big government, and other targets in a two-fisted attack on problems that are warped by a lack of common sense and acceptance of reality. His take on many subjects, particularly the extent of racism and gun control, forced me to reevaluate several of my stances on political and social issues because he brought up ideas I'd never heard before. For example, why don't we hear more about statistics on guns stopping crime instead of committing it?
Besides bringing up important issues, the best characteristics of the book are that he backs his arguments with studies and facts (though other reviews dispute some of these facts) and that he proposes solutions to these problems. In other words, no complaining without offering a better idea on how to run things. I have definitely shifted closer to the libertarian viewpoint because of this book. I will not give it five stars, however, because I think Elder oversimplifies some of his arguments, does not present opposing ideas on what good the government has accomplished (child labor laws? the Federal Reserve?), and overstates perceived similarities between the Republican and Democratic political parties. Still, an excellent, mind-widening book.
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Summary: Outstanding!
Review: This book is straightforward, entertaining, and really makes you think about all the social issues in America which are supposed to be such terrible crises, but which, as Larry Elder so articulately shows, more often than not are self-inflicted maladies brought about by government intervention. His insights into race relations were an eye-opener for me, and his chapter on health care laid out the issue in a way that I had never even considered before. Elder even has me thinking seriously about the legalization of drugs. This book was so enjoyable that I couldn't put it down.
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Summary: Bravo!
Review: Wow! A FANTASTIC read! Larry Elder exposes contemporary "taboos" with cold, hard facts. There isn't an idea in this book that isn't backed up with logic and reason, and most importantly, unbiased statistics.
Elder goes after black racists, gun-grabbers, the biased media, and nanny-statists with a vengence!! If you're interested in factual information and well-reasoned commentary, pick up this book!
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Summary: Best book I've read in years!
Review: Everytime I questioned his sources, there is was in the back. Pages and pages of references to journals and studies. A great book, probably one of the best I've ever read. I would recommend this book to anyone who even has the slightest interest of what goes on in this country.
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Summary: Right on the money on all counts
Review: Larry Elder's 10 points are readily obvious to anyone who is alive and awake in modern America. From the tried-and-failed solution of the liberals in the Democratic party to the milquetoast not quite enough solutions of the Republican party, clearly the libertarian views that Elder puts forth herein deserve consideration.
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Summary: I'm glad he SAID it!!!
Review: This is a wonderfully readable book that addresses subjects that often have been made artificially difficult. I consider myself a committed conservative but I have learned more than I had hoped. Mr. Elder's argument for a true color-blind society, eliminating most income tax, eliminating minimum-wage is truly convincing -- if one will not let his or her politics interfere with reason. This book deserves wide readership in public and it needs to be discussed in our colleges -- what shines through is wisdom and a clear vision of seeing our problems, and it is refreshing to come across a book that does not try to be controversial just for the sake of being controversial.
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Summary: a stimulating book
Review: this is a really enjoyable book but he lost me on health care and gun control.
he has wide-ranging sources which give a lot of validity to his ideas except for gun control where he relies on only one book which makes his thinking very suspect to me
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Disappointing is probably the right word for the book. I like Larry Elder. He is an energetic and persuasive radio talk show host, but what works in quick exchanges with the callers does not work in a book that pretends to be well-researched work. I don't believe the book would pass muster of a simple undergraduate college paper. The research is pretty much one sided and tendentious. Although he talks often about his opponents as having "typical liberal knee-jerk emotional reactions," he sounds very much as doing this himself. In many places he sound like a "victicrat" (his word) and a crybaby, wronged and victimized by the liberals, press, community, and maybe the weather (who knows). The entire world conspired to get Larry and his fellow libertarians. This is unfortunate because Larry Elder talks about many important issues that deserve much better coverage. But then again, I guess nowadays you need to be tendentious to sell a book.
Still, I would not fault Larry Elder for the tone of his book. That's a secondary matter. What is probably the weakest point of his argument is the blind belief in the market solving all social ills. In addition, the problem with him is that (at least in his book and talk show) he does not allow compromises. Almost any governmental intervention is wrong. When that is used for a shock value then it works, but when one enters a serious discussion on the subject, such debate is impossible. The arguments are, first of all, very naïve.
For example Larry Elder would suggest that no anti-discrimination laws are necessary in the work place because market would 'punish' these who discriminate. If you hire only whites workers and pay them 5 dollars per hour while you could hire blacks for 4.75, you are loosing .25 per hour. Now, if your competitor hires these blacks, he will have certain advantage over you and with time will either put you out of business or you will be forced to hire blacks as well.
This sounds very reasonable but unrealistic. First, this hypothetical example does not take into account such factors as general prejudice (or even racism) that would prevent anyone from hiring blacks. Second, with blacks being a minority and with relatively high immigration, most businesses have a sufficient supply of workers that they could prosper without hiring blacks. For example, if you were a racist and run business in Southern California, you could prosper in almost all areas of economy without hiring one black worker. That is if there were no anti-discrimination regulations... Larry Elder's hypothetical example probably would work only at the level where the advantage of one group over the other is very high and visible (the very top echelon of any discipline, whether it would be science or sports), but even then the prejudice can stand on the way of utilizing that what is clearly advantageous to business.
I am not saying here that the government is the answer to everything and that all regulations are rational, smart, or necessary. Further, we know that many regulations are being abused and taken advantage of. However, to reject all of them is plain stupid. In one place Larry Elder argues that sexual harassment laws are unnecessary because the best response of a worker (woman in this case) to sexual harassment and hostile work place is to change a job. Come on Larry, you must see for yourself that the advice is rather idiotic. Sure, if you have a high power executive, an attorney, a successful doctor, etc., it may work. You turn around and find another job where they appreciate you. But what about an assembly line worker without much education and few opportunities?
In short, market works very well but is not immune from social problems. Larry Elder is right in saying that a proper business sense should (theoretically) eliminate racism, prejudice, and sexual harassment, but he doesn't want to admit that in the real world the market has been rather slow in accomplishing it. It is enough to listen to Governor Wallace's old speeches and see the hysterical faces of some whites in Little Rock and other places to assume that the South would rather perish economically than end segregation... Etc.
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