Your ‘Red Pill’ Summer Reading List, Part 2

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“I hope these six books help you better understand the world as it really is, not as we wish it would be. Because by doing so, with God’s grace, we can all work to make it truly better — and maybe even save our country along the way.”

–WILLIAM WOLFE

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Read part 1 of this series here.

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This is the second part of a two-part series in which I prescribe a friendly neighborhood ‘red pill’ summer reading list. I chose these books because they each serve to “open your eyes” to different fundamental issues that are often unreported and undiscussed in America — and you should know about them. I chose six overall because there is only so much reading you can do in one summer (and because it was neatly divisible into three and three).

In part 1, I explained that “the red pill shows us reality for how it really is — even when it’s ugly. And well-researched, accessible books that boldly take on the established (but faulty) social dogmas of our day and age can function as mentally digestible red pills for us today.”

For the first half of this list, I recommended:

1. The Age of Entitlement: America Since the Sixties, by Christopher Caldwell
2. That Hideous Strength, by C.S. Lewis
3. The Virtue of Nationalism, by Yoram Hazony

But wait, there’s more! Here are the final three books you should read as part of your “red pill reality quest” this summer.

4. Black Rednecks and White Liberals, by Thomas Sowell

Addressing the nature of race relations, and related topics, in America is fraught with peril (to say the least). Thankfully, Thomas Sowell is never one to shy away from controversial topics. Written with his characteristic clarity and unflappable style, Black Rednecks and White Liberals is a collection of essays that takes on everything from stereotypes and social assumptions related to the history of black-white relations in America to questions about Jews, the real history of slavery, Germans, and the purpose of education.

In the preface, Sowell explains that “The purpose of this book is to expose some of the more blatant misconceptions poisoning race relations in our time…these essays summarize the conclusions of more than a quarter of a century of my research on racial and cultural issues.” When someone with 25 years of proven study in a field speaks, it would be wise to listen.

As one reviewer put it, “Sowell takes on no issue that is easy, always going for the hard stuff. He is a scholar and writer who chews nails. You may not agree with him — but you must reckon with him.”

Indeed, this is a red pill worth reckoning with. Sowell always is.

5. The Stakes: America at the Point of No Return, by Michael Anton

How did things get to be so politically perilous in America? And what comes next? In The Stakes, Michael Anton, the author of the now-famous “Flight 93 essay” from the 2016 election, answers this question with his particularly gifted powers of description and prediction.

In his review at The Worthy House, Charles Haywood writes that “Michael Anton’s latest, half analysis and half prophecy, is simultaneously terrifying and clarifying…in this very fluid time, he writes as nobody else seems able, making manifest where we are and where we are going. It proves his talent that in the mere two months since Anton wrote his Preface, more than one of his predictions has come true.”

Anton’s central point is basically this: Going forward, every election will be a “Flight 93” election. What does he mean? He means that every single presidential election is essentially an existential fight for the future of our country, “until and unless one of two things happens. Either the left achieves the final victory it has long sought, and the only national elections that matter are Democratic primaries to determine who goes on to defeat—inevitably—a hopelessly outnumbered and ineffectual ‘opposition.’ Or the Republican Party—or some successor—leads a realignment along nationalist-populist lines that forces the left to moderate and accept the legitimacy of red-state/flyover/’deplorable’ concerns.”

And those — a surge in national populism that completely resets our national politics or the crushing boot of perpetual progressive rule — are “the stakes.” If those are higher than you thought they were, well, there’s your red pill.

6. Social Justice Goes To Church: The New Left in Modern American Evangelicalism, by Jon Harris

Why does it seem like everywhere you look you see some big-name Christian figure in America compromising on clear biblical teachings like man-woman marriage or abortion? This is always done to the applause of the culture, of course, for becoming more “inclusive” or “feminist.”

Why does a “progressive Christian’s” support for the Marxist group Black Lives Matter often go hand-in-hand with support for “social justice” or even transgenderism?

In Social Justice Goes To Church, Jon Harris explains the historical connection between earlier generations of radical Marxist Christians and today’s progressive left.

The summary of the book explains that:

“In the 1970s, many campus radicals raised in Christian homes brought neo-Marxist ideas from college back to church with them. At first, figures like Jim Wallis, Ron Sider, and Richard Mouw made great gains for their progressive evangelical cause. But, after the defeat of Jimmy Carter, the religious right stole the headlines.

Today, a new crop of mainstream evangelicals has taken up the cause of the New Left, whether they know it or not. As pro-life evangelicals rush to support movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo, it is important to realize they are walking in footprints already laid down. Their mission may be more successful, but it is not new.”

Jon Harris has been on the frontlines in the war against “woke” — and its attempted infiltration into the Church — for many years now. Social Justice Goes to Church is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand who exactly these Gospel enemies are that have made their way behind our own lines — and how faithful Christians can drive them out.

Conclusion

Welcome to “red pill” summer reading. I hope these six books help you better understand the world as it really is, not as we wish it would be. Because by doing so, with God’s grace, we can all work to make it truly better — and maybe even save our country along the way.

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Follow William on Twitter! @William_E_Wolfe

Ready to dive deeper into the intersection of faith and policy? Head over to our Theology of Politics series page where we’ve published several long-form pieces that will help Christians navigate where their faith should direct them on political issues.