Barbarians inside the gates--and other controversial essays cover

Barbarians inside the gates--and other controversial essays

by Thomas Sowell

In this latest collection of his always provocative essays, Thomas Sowell once again demonstrates why he is one of the most thoughtful, readable, and controversial thinkers of our time. With his usual unrelenting candor, Sowell cuts through the stereotypes, popular mythology, and "mush" surrounding the critical issues facing our nation today. Combining reason and common sense with actual historical and statistical evidence, he challenges the assumptions of those cultural and political elites he calls "the anointed" - those who are "presuming or pretending to know answers that could be applied through government programs" - and offers a hard-hitting perspective that is uniquely his own.

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?