The controversial neoconservative political scientist holds forth on social science and public policy in this scattershot collection of essays culled from three decades’ worth of his writings in Commentary
, the Public Interest
, and other journals. The collection touches on Wilson’s longstanding interests: the importance of “character” in thinking about crime and education, the centrality of religion in national life, and the role of heredity in shaping behavior (in one recent essay he argues that our genes are a major factor in determining our political attitudes.) Wilson is at his best when he argues from close readings of historical evidence and social science data, which often yield trenchant insights—on the growth and solidification of federal programs, the unimportance of school spending and class size to educational outcomes compared with intangibles like academic expectations and discipline. But sometimes, as in his grousing about Obamacare and his dismissal of “European-style social democracy” on no firmer grounds than its alleged incompatibility with “American exceptionalism,” he simply repeats conservative preconceptions. Always good at provoking intellectual brawls, Wilson doesn’t always succeed at settling them. (July)
