The 5 Most Important Books of the 21st Century

Those who visit Poison Pero is RIGHT! on a regular basis have seen references to each of the books listed below. They are about various subjects, but each is of vast importance because they are the best books based on the most important topics of our time...Superbly researched and written, and produced by brilliant writers from both the Right and Left - in fact most are Lefties; honest Lefties.

The nice thing about all five is they are very easy reads; flawlessly written, and don't require a specialists knowledge to handle their subject matter.  A major plus, and a sign of excellent storytellers and writers.

I have linked each book to an Amazon.com address if you want to purchase them - each can be had for less than $15. I have no financial stake in any of these books, but hope if you have time for just one great book this year you will pick one of these five...Hopefully you have time for each.

For the third year in a row, no new book has entered the Top 5.
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#1: The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11

Where did al-Qaeda and other Islamist threats originate, and what do they want? Why do they hate America so much? The answers and reasons may surprise you...What shouldn't be surprising is our national intelligence operations could have stopped them from killing 3,000+ on 9/11. Why did our government (Clinton and Bush administrations) fail to stop them when they could and should have?

"...someday somebody will die...the public will not understand why we are not more effective and throwing every resource we had at certain 'problems.'" - Steve Bongart (FBI agent before 9/11/01)

Make no mistake, Bin Laden is dead, but if his successors or any of the worldwide Jihadist groups has their way 9/11 will be a preview of 'bigger things to come'...Don't be afraid to be afraid. You should be afraid; especially if our government gives our enemies room to breathe and operate.

The 2011-2013 Middle East revolts - and those which will have followed - make this book of the highest importance, because our enemies aren’t just al-Qaeda. There are wanna-be al-Qaeda groups, many of which started with the Muslim Brotherhood; a group which has is hardly harmless, no matter what the Western talking-heads tell you.

Even more scary, there are many new groups forming across the region; groups which are offshoots of the Brotherhood and AQ.  Groups which will take up the mantle of trying to creatie a new Caliphate in their own way.

Black Flags:  The Rise of ISIS does not crack this list, but it is a perfect follow-up to The Looming Tower, because it takes the next step in the Radical Islamic war against the world, detailing the rise of Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi and how ISIS came into being...It also reminds us that even though Bin Laden has been killed al-Qaeda and it's evil offshoots have not been - and won't be.

#2: Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War

Written before 9/11/01, which is important to keep in mind...The author is also a Liberal, so it can't be considered a Rightwing/Neo-Con scare book.

A few questions kept coming to mind during and after reading this book:

1. Muammar Gaddafi admitted to having, and turned over, a bio/chem program to the U.S. after the Iraq invasion, because he was afraid of being 'Sadaamized'...If relatively insignificant Libya had an unknown bio/chem program can anyone doubt other countries do as well? Much larger, more deadly programs?

2. When the Soviet Union dissolved, it's bio/chem scientists disappeared. Where did they go? What countries would pay millions of dollars to employ them?

3.  If the Soviets (and probably the U.S. as well) changed the DNA of their smallpox weapons would anyone on Earth be safe from a 'new strain'?  If one of these weapons were set loose on the world could it have the same effect as smallpox had on the New World Indians; who had no protection against smallpox and were wiped out by it?

4.  Anyone paying attention to the current Syrian civil war knows one of the greatest concerns is Assad using bio/chemical weapons in an attempt to save his skin...He is hardly the only maniac who would do this - North Korea should come to mind immediately, and their bio/chem programs are more on the U.S. and Soviet model than the tiny Libyan or Syrian.

#3: Infidel

An amazing biography about a Somali woman, born and raised in the Muslim culture of East Africa and Saudi Arabia, with all the horrors of being a female...Horrors which are very routine for girls and women in this portion of the world - routine for some in the Western world, where Western governments are afraid of taking on the barbarians they have allowed to enter their countries who commit these crimes.

Incredibly, the author (Ayaan Hirsi Ali) managed to escape these horrors and fled to the Netherlands, where she became a member of it's national government...Unfortunately, the Dutch were too gutless to keep her, because they couldn't handle the Muslim backlash against this brilliant woman's quest to 'free' Muslim women.

Women compose half the world's population, and in the West much has been done to liberate women.  Sadly, the vast majority of women on Earth don't have these same liberties; especially not in the Muslim world...It's a harsh reality, and one which is often overlooked or excused as a 'cultural norm' by the West; which should be disgraceful to all those who truly care about women's rights.

#4: Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America - and What We Can Do About It

The author is a BLACK LIBERAL, which is part of the power of this book.

He attacks black America's problems, and takes no prisoners in explaining why they continue and who/what is causing their problems...The most impressive way to explain it is simple: Juan Williams isn't worried that white racists will use his book against blacks; he cares enough to point out to black Americans their continuing problem is mostly a problem of their own making.

A genius, as well as socially, politically, and personally courageous book for Williams to write.

A side note:  The book begins with a tale of Bill Cosby.  Don't let the issues later unveiled about Cosby's private life blindside you to the fact of the tale Cosby tells...He may be a bad man, but the tale he tells is a harsh truth regardless of his faults.

#5: Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground

A detailed account of the modern American military from the perspective of the men and women executing American policy...Civilian leaders, generals and admirals are important and establish policy, but it's the troops on the ground who are the backbone of the military and execute the policy of their leaders.

Think about the implications of every positive, neutral, and negative action from every soldier, Marine, airman, and seaman.

It’s #5 on my list, but by far my favorite of the five to read.

Most recent book bumped out of the Top 5 - Gulag: A History
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Like I said at the top, I hope you read all five, but at worst give one a try...I promise you’ll agree these are superior books on some of the most important topics of our time.  Luckily, none of them is overly difficult to read, because they are all written by superb story-tellers.

For any of you who know me personally, I have a copy of each (except Imperial Grunts) to loan out if you wish :)

It may be awhile before another book cracks this list, but I'll make sure to update it when one does.