"A Personal Odyssey"

Through a stroke of luck I ordered a couple of Thomas Sowell books that I'd never heard of through our great library system last Wednesday. The books came in on Friday and I was able to spend a decent chunk of time during the rainy weekend reading through Sowell's autobiography, A Personal Odyssey. 

It was a fabulous read: witty, profoundly insightful, and delightfully written. Both Friday and Saturday nights I had a hard time putting it down and stayed up far later than I ought to have devouring the anecdotes and vignettes.

Sowell was born into poverty living first in Charlotte, N.C., but moving to Harlem at the age of nine. His story of overcoming great odds, by using his God-given gift of discerning intellect was truly an inspiration.

Needless to say, Sowell is not a saint: his integrity sometimes felt a lot more like stubbornness. But nevertheless, his odyssey from abandonment as a 17 year old on his own in NYC to being a senior fellow at the top ranked think tank in the country is indeed a striking one.

For any of you who are fans of his other works, I highly recommend this delightful book!

Also, the most recent edition of National Review's interview series "Uncommon Knowledge" with host Peter Robinson features an interview with Sowell about his most recent book, an updated edition of Economic Facts and Fallacies. Check it out! There are five portions; here is part one -- follow the links to the others.