The Secret Knowledge: On the Dismantling of American Culture

Mamet’s political coming out book doesn’t offer much new insight into conservatism. Instead it cribs a lot from Thomas Sowell and other prominent conservative thinkers. He even goes so far as to restate Sowell’s ideas of the “constrained vision” almost verbatim. Large sections of the book seem to be rooted in his defense of the state of Israel. If anything, what Mamet brings to the discussion is his colorful and often dense style of prose. Although I am on-board with most of his positions, I do have to concede that he does invoke straw man arguments to some degree when he targets his ire against liberals. And he also uses the phrase, “Which is to say…” a whole lot.