George F. Will

New York Times' Notable Book of 2019 Selection NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, an "astonishing" and "enthralling" (Booklist) new examination of how the Founders' belief in natural rights created a great American political tradition--"easily one of the best books on American Conservatism ever written" (Jonah Goldberg). For more than four decades, George F. Will has attempted to discern the principles of the Western political tradition and apply them to America's civic life. Today, the stakes could hardly be higher. Vital questions about the nature of man, of rights, of equality, of majority rule are bubbling just beneath the surface of daily events in America. The Founders' vision, articulated first in the Declaration of Independence and carried out in the Constitution, gave the new republic a framework for government unique in world history. Their beliefs in natural rights, limited government, religious freedom, and in human virtue and dignity ushered in two centuries of American prosperity. Now, as Will shows, conservatism is under threat--both from progressives and elements inside the Republican Party. America has become an administrative state, while destructive trends have overtaken family life and higher education. Semi-autonomous executive agencies wield essentially unaccountable power. Congress has failed in its duty to exercise its legislative powers. And the executive branch has slipped the Constitution's leash. In the intellectual battle between the vision of Founding Fathers like James Madison, who advanced the notion of natural rights that pre-exist government, and the progressivism advanced by Woodrow Wilson, the Founders have been losing. It's time to reverse America's political fortunes. Expansive, intellectually thrilling, and written with the erudite wit that has made Will beloved by millions of readers, The Conservative Sensibility is an extraordinary new book from one of America's most celebrated political writers.

The Conservative Sensibility

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist George F. Will, his ninth collection of reflections on our culture, examining the many ways in which expertise, reason, and manners are continually under attack in our institutions, courts, political arenas, and social venues. George F. Will has been one of this country's leading columnists since 1974. He won the Pulitzer Prize for it in 1977. The Wall Street Journal once called him "perhaps the most powerful journalist in America." In this new collection, he examines a remarkably unsettling thirteen years in our nation's experience, from 2008 to 2020. Included are a number of columns about court cases, mostly from the Supreme Court, that illuminate why the composition of the federal judiciary has become such a contentious subject. Other topics addressed include the American Revolutionary War, historical figures from Frederick Douglass to JFK, as well as a scathing assessment of how State of the Union Addresses are delivered in the modern day. Mr. Will also offers his perspective on American socialists, anti-capitalist conservatives, drug policy, the criminal justice system, climatology, the Coronavirus, the First Amendment, parenting, meritocracy and education, China, fascism, authoritarianism, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and the morality of enjoying football. American Happiness and Discontents: The Unruly Torrent, 2008-2020 is a collection packed with wisdom and leavened by humor from one the preeminent columnists and intellectuals of our time.

The Unruly Torrent, 2008-2020

American Happiness and Discontents

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentator and longtime baseball fanatic George F. Will--the #1 bestselling ultimate insider's look at the exacting craft of baseball

Men at Work

Chronicling a century of highs and lows at Wrigley Field, a leading columnist explores the home of the hapless Chicago Cubs in relation to his upbringing, the growth of Chicago, the history of baseball, and the nature of sports fandom.

Wrigley Field at One Hundred

A Nice Little Place on the North Side

Congress, Term Limits and the Recovery of Deliberative Democracy

Restoration

The Craft of Baseball

A collection of essays on America's national pastime includes thoughts on the "big bang" style of baseball in the 1950s, reviews of books on Pete Rose and Ted Williams, and a eulogy for Curt Flood

Bunts

The conservative thinker and columnist reflects on the fundamental beliefs of American political theory, questioning the sufficiency of the principle of competing self-interests as a basis for society and arguing for a more broadly based interpretation of the role of government

Statecraft as Soulcraft

With a zesty blend of skepticism and candor, The Morning After presents Will's inimitable insights on everything from the shortfalls of conservatism in power--especially in an era that purports to exalt its truths--to the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's birthday.

American Successes and Excesses, 1981-1986

The Morning After

In this volume, Mr. Will, distinguished political columnist and cultural critic, examines many episodes of the conservatives' tribulations and the liberals' accommodations to the new political landscape. These writings present a map of the landscape, a guide for people perplexed by the gap between contemporary political theories and practices. Here are essays about the peculiar goings-on on campuses, where "rights"--Including a right to Chinese take-out food - multiply. Mr. Will is as pleased by the thirtieth anniversary of The Public Interest quarterly as he is appalled by the horrific new "sport" of "extreme fighting," which raises questions about the limits of permissible commerce. Here are snapshots of something trivial, the 1996 presidential campaign, that illustrated something momentous, the marginalization of the presidency. Mr. Will examines the achievements and misadventures of judicial activism, the writing of national standards for the teaching of history, and the West's response to genocide in the Balkans. But as always in Mr. Will's writings, there is time for the pure fun of life in a nation blessed with ESPN and Corvettes.

Conservatism and America's Fabric, 1994-1997

The Woven Figure

The author discusses the triumph of American democratic ideals abroad, the failings of the budget and the President, and other topics

The American Idea Abroad and at Home, 1986-1990

Suddenly

Biblical Christianity was originally a sect of Judaism that believed in Jesus and revered the Torah as the core of her scriptures. Restoration is a riveting argument for a return to that original biblical expression of faith in Jesus. Discover for yourself the profound beauty of Torah life, the celebration of the biblical Sabbath, and the application of God's holy feast days. Your eyes will be opened to another dimension of the faith that is beginning to reemerge among Christians worldwide. Lancaster answers common theological objections to the Torah, while demonstrating that Christians are already keeping more of God's Law than they realize. This thought provoking, theological boat-rocker is a fun-to-read inspiring journey into the world of the Bible.

The noted conservative columnist and essayist summons the nation to be a responsible capitalism, calls for an elevated political leadership, and analyzes various trends, attitudes, phenomena, and personalities at large in the country today

The Pursuit of Virtue and Other Tory Notions

Examine the ways in which expertise, reason, and manners are continually under attack in our institutions, courts, political arenas, and social venues with this collection from the Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist. George F. Will has been one of this country’s leading columnists since 1974. He won the Pulitzer Prize for it in 1977. The Wall Street Journal once called him “perhaps the most powerful journalist in America.” In this new collection, he examines a remarkably unsettling thirteen years in our nation’s experience, from 2008 to 2020. Included are a number of columns about court cases, mostly from the Supreme Court, that illuminate why the composition of the federal judiciary has become such a contentious subject. Other topics addressed include the American Revolutionary War, historical figures from Frederick Douglass to JFK, as well as a scathing assessment of how State of the Union Addresses are delivered in the modern day. Mr. Will also offers his perspective on American socialists, anti-capitalist conservatives, drug policy, the criminal justice system, climatology, the Coronavirus, the First Amendment, parenting, meritocracy and education, China, fascism, authoritarianism, Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, and the morality of enjoying football. American Happiness and Discontents: The Unruly Torrent, 2008-2020 is a collection packed with wisdom and leavened by humor from one the preeminent columnists and intellectuals of our time.

The Ingredients of Better Journalism

Focusing on Ideas and Culture

A seventh collection by the Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist imparts his views on such topics as Whitewater, Monica Lewinsky, the impeachment trial of Clinton, the debate over partial-birth abortions, the 2000 election, baseball, and the deaths of his mentor and father. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

America and the World, 1997--2002

With a Happy Eye, But...

Columns originally published in Newsweek and the Washington Post which deal with human nature and contemporary American life and politics.

The Pursuit of Happiness, and Other Sobering Thoughts

Swatches From The Century's End ...I cannot deny my past to which my self is wed, the woven figure cannot undo its thread. Louis MacNeice, "Valediction" These words express a truth of conservatism that has discomfited conservatives in the years covered by this volume. This collection of columns shows how, in the mid-1990s, conservatives fancied themselves poised to conduct a revolution, a radical reorientation of politics and governance. But in the late 1990s, they have discovered how resistant a complex nation is to being undone and rewoven. In this volume, George F. Will, distinguished political columnist and cultural critic, examines many episodes of the conservative tribulations and the liberal accommodations to the new political landscape. These writings present a map of the landscape, a guide for people perplexed by the gap between contemporary political theories and practices. With his customary linguistic flair and acerbic wit, Mr. Will tackles a wide range of subjects, including political correctness on college campuses; extreme fighting; the 1996 presidential campaign; judicial activism; ESPN; and Corvettes. These writings are history written on deadline, and together they constitute a richly woven tapestry of our era.

George F. Will

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