Latter-day Liberty: A Gospel Approach to Government and Politics

Latter-day Liberty: A Gospel Approach to Government and Politics Review

Individual liberty is a fundamental aspect of the good news of the gospel. But what is liberty exactly, and what role does it play in our lives? Connor Boyack explores these questions and much more in this detailed analysis of historical developments, secular information, and scriptural insights. The war in heaven continues on earth today, and our agency and liberty are under attack. Arm yourself with the truth by reading this timely book.

Advance praise for Latter-day Liberty:

Representative Ron Paul (R-TX), Author, Liberty Defined:

"Connor Boyack has written a fascinating book that applies Mormon theology to the central question of statism vs. liberty that dominates our age.  Latter-day Liberty provides an insightful analysis of both historical and modern political issues,  and challenges the reader to reconcile religious beliefs with state actions.  Not surprisingly, he finds that our federal government routinely violates the religious principles that many Mormons hold dear.

"Those who advocate limited government necessarily must advocate strong religious, civic, and social institutions.  These institutions, rather than the state, should act as the central organizing mechanisms in American society.  For this reason Latter-day Liberty can appeal to readers who are not Mormon, but simply recognize that their relationship with God compels them to question their relationship with the state."

Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Ph.D., Author, Nullification: How to Resist Federal Tyranny in the 21st Century:

"Only someone knowledgeable in theology, U.S. history, constitutional law, and political philosophy could have taken on a task like Latter-day Liberty.  Connor Boyack has proven that he more than fits that bill. The sheer weight of his evidence and the unfailing rigor of his arguments -- even when dealing with the hard cases, which Boyack courageously and persuasively confronts -- practically compel the reader to embrace liberty (the real thing, not the watered-down version peddled by most politicians) as the highest political good. A stellar achievement."

Greg Wright, Author, Satan's War on Free Agency:

"I will never view political issues the same after reading this book. Latter-day Liberty makes a convincing argument for applying gospel principles to politics. If it is read with an open mind, anybody will be well educated!"

Doug French, President, Ludwig von Mises Institute:

"Latter-day Liberty couldn't be more timely.  This poignant book serves as a wake-up call for Latter-day Saints, with Boyack and leaders of the LDS Church eloquently making the case for individual liberty."

Jack Monnett, Ph.D., Author, Awakening to Our Awful Situation:

In Latter-day Liberty, Connor Boyack has presented a most articulate and historically accurate presentation of the foundational views of Joseph Smith, other leaders of the LDS Church, and our Founding Fathers. In a world of politically charged confusion, Latter-day Saints would do well to read and understand the roots of agency, government responsibility, and individual liberty that Boyack so clearly outlines. 

Sheriff Richard Mack, Author, The Proper Role of Law Enforcement:

This book provides a thorough and compelling analysis of liberty, which is a subject too often ignored in government today. Well sourced and engaging, Latter-day Liberty is a must-read for every Latter-day Saint.

Jonathan E. Johnson III, President, Overstock.com:

In Latter-day Liberty, Connor Boyack has done a great service by researching and compiling teachings on the principles of liberty from the Founding Fathers and the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a concise, well-written, and informative way. His application of these teachings to current political issues is both thought provoking and enlightening - even for those who may disagree with his applications. Those who value agency and love liberty will find Latter-day Liberty a book well worth reading.

Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800

Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800 Review

First published in 1980 and recently out of print, Liberty's Daughters is widely considered a landmark book on the history of American women and on the Revolution itself.

Key-Notes of American Liberty Comprising the most important speeches, proclamations, andacts of Congress, from the foundation of the government to the present time

Key-Notes of American Liberty Comprising the most important speeches, proclamations, andacts of Congress, from the foundation of the government to the present time Review

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (Oxford History of the United States)

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (Oxford History of the United States) Review

The Oxford History of the United States is by far the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, two New York Times bestsellers, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. Now, in the newest volume in the series, one of America's most esteemed historians, Gordon S. Wood, offers a brilliant account of the early American Republic, ranging from 1789 and the beginning of the national government to the end of the War of 1812.
As Wood reveals, the period was marked by tumultuous change in all aspects of American life--in politics, society, economy, and culture. The men who founded the new government had high hopes for the future, but few of their hopes and dreams worked out quite as they expected. They hated political parties but parties nonetheless emerged. Some wanted the United States to become a great fiscal-military state like those of Britain and France; others wanted the country to remain a rural agricultural state very different from the European states. Instead, by 1815 the United States became something neither group anticipated. Many leaders expected American culture to flourish and surpass that of Europe; instead it became popularized and vulgarized. The leaders also hope to see the end of slavery; instead, despite the release of many slaves and the end of slavery in the North, slavery was stronger in 1815 than it had been in 1789. Many wanted to avoid entanglements with Europe, but instead the country became involved in Europe's wars and ended up waging another war with the former mother country. Still, with a new generation emerging by 1815, most Americans were confident and optimistic about the future of their country.
Integrating all aspects of life, from politics and law to the economy and culture, Empire of Liberty offers a marvelous account of this pivotal era when America took its first unsteady steps as a new and rapidly expanding nation.

A Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History

Winner of the New-York Historical Society American History Book Prize

A New York Times Bestseller

Selected as one of the Top 25 Books of 2009 by The Atlantic

"On every page of this book, Wood's subtlety and erudition show. Grand in scope and a landmark achievement of scholarship, Empire of Liberty is a tour de force, the culmination of a lifetime of brilliant thinking and writing."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Empire of Liberty will rightly take its place among the authoritative volumes in this important and influential series."
--The Washington Post

Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration, and the Rule of Law

Design for Liberty: Private Property, Public Administration, and the Rule of Law Review

Following a vast expansion in the twentieth century, government is beginning to creak at the joints under its enormous weight. The signs are clear: a bloated civil service, low approval ratings for Congress and the President, increasing federal-state conflict, rampant distrust of politicians and government officials, record state deficits, and major unrest among public employees.

In this compact, clearly written book, the noted legal scholar Richard Epstein advocates a much smaller federal government, arguing that our over-regulated state allows too much discretion on the part of regulators, which results in arbitrary, unfair decisions, rent-seeking, and other abuses. Epstein bases his classical liberalism on the twin pillars of the rule of law and of private contracts and property rights—an overarching structure that allows private property to keep its form regardless of changes in population, tastes, technology, and wealth. This structure also makes possible a restrained public administration to implement limited objectives. Government continues to play a key role as night-watchman, but with the added flexibility in revenues and expenditures to attend to national defense and infrastructure formation.

Although no legal system can eliminate the need for discretion in the management of both private and public affairs, predictable laws can cabin the zone of discretion and permit arbitrary decisions to be challenged. Joining a set of strong property rights with sound but limited public administration could strengthen the rule of law, with its virtues of neutrality, generality, clarity, consistency, and forward-lookingness, and reverse the contempt and cynicism that have overcome us.

(20120101)

Give Me Liberty

Give Me Liberty Review

The American Revolution is about to ignite!

Life is tough for thirteen-year-old Nathaniel Dunn, an indentured servant in colonial Virginia. Yet in a twist of luck, he meets Basil, a kind schoolmaster, and an arrangement is struck lending Nathaniel's labor to a Williamsburg carriage maker. Basil introduces Nathaniel to music, books, and philosophies that open his mind to new attitudes about equality. The year is 1775, and as colonists voice their rage over England's taxation, Patrick Henry's words "give me liberty, or give me death" become the sounding call for action. Should Nathaniel and Basil join the fight? What is the meaning of "liberty" in a country reliant on indentured servants and slaves? Nathaniel must face the puzzling choices a dawning nation lays before him.

Give Me Liberty!: The Story of the Declaration of Independence

Give Me Liberty!: The Story of the Declaration of Independence Review

Describes the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence as well as the personalities and politics behind its framing.

The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship

The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship Review

On June 8, 1967, as war raged between Israel and its neighbors, an American spy ship, the U.S.S. Liberty, eavesdropped on communications off the coast of Egypt. When Israeli fighter jets flew overhead, the Liberty's crew assumed that the ship's identifying markings and American flag would be visible to the pilots in the clear skies above. After several passes over a period of hours, the jets suddenly opened fire and began strafing and napalming the deck of the Liberty, which had minimal defenses. When the air attack ended, Israeli torpedo boats appeared and scored a direct hit. By the time the assault was over, 34 crewmen had been killed and 171-two-thirds of the crew-seriously injured. Only heroic efforts by the crew saved the ship from sinking.

Back in Washington, news of the attack on the Liberty was received with a mixture of shock and outrage. Many in the Pentagon and in Congress demanded that Israel be held accountable for the unprovoked attack in international waters. The Johnson administration initially responded by threatening Israel but soon softened its attitude. Israel's stunning victory in the Six-Day War, as it became known, was a source of pride to many American Jews, and their support was crucial to an administration mired in an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam. With the death toll mounting daily in Vietnam, the attack on the Liberty was pushed to the back pages of the nation's newspapers and ultimately all but forgotten.

James Scott is a journalist and the son of a surviving Liberty officer. In this riveting book, he recounts the story of the horrifying attack and the tremendous impact it had on the lives of the crew. He puts the attack in context, showing how political considerations trumped the demands for justice from the survivors and their supporters in the military and in Congress. Drawing on new interviews and recently declassified documents, he demonstrates that Israel's initial insistence that the attack was a mistake caused by misidentification of the ship is implausible.

Scott documents, for the first time, the fact that the ship was correctly identified by at least one of the pilots prior to the attacks. His descriptions of the crew under fire and their frantic work to save the ship are dramatic and unforgettable. Scott takes readers into the conference rooms at the White House where the most senior officials in the government debated how to respond to the attack and then eventually devised a plan to protect Israel from public outrage.

The Attack on the Liberty is the finest account yet of this tragedy and a remarkable tale of men under fire in an incident that remains bitterly disputed after more than forty years.

Give Me Liberty!: An American History (Brief Third Edition) (Vol. 1)

Give Me Liberty!: An American History (Brief Third Edition) (Vol. 1) Review

The leading United States History survey text, now available in a brief, full-color edition.

Give Me Liberty! is the leading book in the market because it works in the classroom. A single-author book, Give Me Liberty! offers students a consistent approach, a single narrative voice, and a coherent perspective throughout the text. Threaded through the chronological narrative is the theme of freedom in American history and the significant conflicts over its changing meanings, its limits, and its accessibility to various social and economic groups throughout American history. This streamlined edition, revised by author Eric Foner, is 30 percent shorter and includes a new pedagogical feature to help students read and review.

The Liberty of Servants: Berlusconi's Italy

The Liberty of Servants: Berlusconi's Italy Review

Italy is a country of free political institutions, yet it has become a nation of servile courtesans, with Silvio Berlusconi as their prince. This is the controversial argument that Italian political philosopher and noted Machiavelli biographer Maurizio Viroli puts forward in The Liberty of Servants. Drawing upon the classical republican conception of liberty, Viroli shows that a people can be unfree even though they are not oppressed. This condition of unfreedom arises as a consequence of being subject to the arbitrary or enormous power of men like Berlusconi, who presides over Italy with his control of government and the media, immense wealth, and infamous lack of self-restraint.

Challenging our most cherished notions about liberty, Viroli argues that even if a power like Berlusconi's has been established in the most legitimate manner and people are not denied their basic rights, the mere existence of such power makes those subject to it unfree. Most Italians, following the lead of their elites, lack the minimal moral qualities of free people, such as respect for the Constitution, the willingness to obey laws, and the readiness to discharge civic duties. As Viroli demonstrates, they exhibit instead the characteristics of servility, including flattery, blind devotion to powerful men, an inclination to lie, obsession with appearances, imitation, buffoonery, acquiescence, and docility. Accompanying these traits is a marked arrogance that is apparent among not only politicians but also ordinary citizens.

For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto

For a New Liberty: The Libertarian Manifesto Review

A classic that for over two decades has been hailed as the best general work on libertarianism available. Rothbard begins with a quick overview of its historical roots, and then goes on to define libertarianism as resting "upon one single axiom: that no man or group of men shall aggress upon the person or property of anyone else." He writes a withering critique of the chief violator of liberty: the State. Rothbard then provides penetrating libertarian solutions for many of today's most pressing problems, including poverty, war, threats to civil liberties, the education crisis, and more.