Why ‘How to Manage Savagery’ at Commentary should be required reading

My family says there’s nothing I won’t read, and I guess that’s true. From bluebloods like The Atlantic to the modest black and white pages of Poetry to the snappy discourse in NewsMax and renegades like National Enquirer, I read them all. Books are everywhere—Sen. John McCain’s are there along with Sen. Barack Obama’s. Lawrence Solomon's 'The Deniers' is among my favorites of late. One of the best books I've ever read is John Keegan's 'A History of Warfare.'

A few books have recently arrived with my own work—collections and anthologies whose editors asked for my contribution. I’ve been re-reading a Spanish dictionary I used in high school. Part of my problem: I read fast. So I run out of stuff to read quickly. But an essay I read at Commentary , website for the print publication with the same name, spurred me to subscribe.

I stumbled on the Commentary website and came to the conclusion it’s one of the best on the Web. I have subscribed to the print edition. “Thinkative” essays on Middle East and U.S. politics; analyses of studies of DNA in those of Jewish ancestry—those are samples of what you will find. The essay that should be required reading for a number of social and political groups delves the issue of major religions in the world.

The essay should be required reading of every college student in the nation: Bret Stephens’ How to Manage Savagery. Stephens explores the roots and evolution of Islamic extremism and how its existence has harmed not only the West but Muslim societies as well. Stephens offers ideas about foreign policy—candidates on both presidential tickets would benefit from reading this essay. Anyone involved in foreign policy in Congress should read it, though some of our current members may need help from a tutor because the essay isn’t written on a 5th grade level. I do not mean that statement humorously.

My readers know I have often roundly criticized mass media, and they also know my criticism is well-deserved. Commentary is a website that gives me something to admire  because it is actually written by real writers who list and vet their sources and those are vetted by real editors. A credit to the Web, it is, and I highly recommend it.

[Disclosure: no monetary or other gain is derived from this glowing review. I do not (and will not) review products or publications for any reason other than personal preferences.]