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What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America
Solutions�not theories.
Political progress�not political posturing.
Instead of the constant jockeying for political advantage, in What Works, author and columnist Cal Thomas focuses on what promotes the general welfare, regardless of which party or ideology gets the credit.
Thomas probes and provides answers to questions like, Why must we constantly fight the same battles over and over? Why don�t we consult the past and use common sense in order to see that what others discovered long ago still works today? And why does present-day Washington too often look like the film Groundhog Day, with our elected officials waking up each day only to repeat identical talking points from previous days, months, and years?
Without letting politics, or ignorance, get in the way, Thomas urges listeners to pay attention so that politicians can no longer pick their pockets�literally or intellectually.
What Works is about solutions, not theories. It�s about pressuring political leadership to forget about the next election and start focusing on the needs of the people who work hard to provide for themselves, send their tax dollars to Washington, and want to see the country achieve something of value�like it has always done.
Political progress�not political posturing.
Instead of the constant jockeying for political advantage, in What Works, author and columnist Cal Thomas focuses on what promotes the general welfare, regardless of which party or ideology gets the credit.
Thomas probes and provides answers to questions like, Why must we constantly fight the same battles over and over? Why don�t we consult the past and use common sense in order to see that what others discovered long ago still works today? And why does present-day Washington too often look like the film Groundhog Day, with our elected officials waking up each day only to repeat identical talking points from previous days, months, and years?
Without letting politics, or ignorance, get in the way, Thomas urges listeners to pay attention so that politicians can no longer pick their pockets�literally or intellectually.
What Works is about solutions, not theories. It�s about pressuring political leadership to forget about the next election and start focusing on the needs of the people who work hard to provide for themselves, send their tax dollars to Washington, and want to see the country achieve something of value�like it has always done.
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First published April 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 17, 2018
I bought this book because I generally enjoy (and most often agree with) Cal Thomas' articles. I was surprised, however, and somewhat disappointed, to find that this book is really just a collection of excerpts from his columns, organized by subject, with some additional commentary added. The result struck me as poorly organized, and sometimes outright redundant, with the same article sometimes quoted at length in more than one chapter.
I do appreciate the common-sense approach the author takes to current political and social issues, especially on criminal justice reform, where I think his perspective might draw the ire of some conservatives. However, I would have found this book a more enjoyable read if it had been an original work, or just a collection of articles presented as such, and not a cross between the two.
I do appreciate the common-sense approach the author takes to current political and social issues, especially on criminal justice reform, where I think his perspective might draw the ire of some conservatives. However, I would have found this book a more enjoyable read if it had been an original work, or just a collection of articles presented as such, and not a cross between the two.
April 1, 2014
This is one of those rare occasions where I actually got a pre-release copy AND got it read in time to review on release day!
This is the best politically-related book with a groundhog on the cover that I have ever read. It certainly supports the idea that groundhogs are conservative by nature, because otherwise I figure the groundhog would be attacking Cal Thomas instead of being happily photoshopped onto his shoulder. (I’m guessing it’s a composited photo, since there are separate credits for the author pic and the groundhog pic.)
I’m not here to deal with photography, though, I’m supposed to look at the content of What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America. So, let’s move on from the cover shot…or the tagline of “It’s groundhog day in Washington.” At least Thomas has settled on our government being locked on February 2. I’m pretty sure they’re all locked on April 1.
First and foremost, if you do not know Thomas’ political views, he’s conservative. Very conservative. If you hold the opposing views, you will most likely not like this book, nor will you like this review. I happen to think most of Thomas’ political viewpoint makes sense, so if you think the government should tax everyone into identical incomes to provide identical lives for everyone, you’ll dislike me, this review, and this book pretty solidly.
If you are a fan of Thomas, you’re aware of his writing style. He’s a newspaper columnist, which basically prefigures the modern blogger: you have to hit the point, hit it memorably, and hit it short. The difference in columnists and bloggers is this: any idiot can blog, but there are limited spots for columnists, so you have to be good at it to do it for a living.
Thomas has been good at it for nearly 30 years. What Works ends up reading like a string of columns organized by topic and concept. This is logical, but it does result in a few places of repetition. Additionally, the brevity lends itself to telling the preferred side of any given story or statistic. Citing one liners from speeches of past Presidents, for example, makes good points, but loses the context of the speech. And that says nothing of the context of history: what portions of President Coolidge’s economic policies contributed to the Great Depression? Yet we see Coolidge cited favorably at some points.
Of course, grasping what points the citations are is hampered by the use of the dreaded ENDNOTE instead of the blessed FOOTNOTE! As always, it’s hard to know if the author is responsible for that, but I will absolutely fuss about any nonfiction book that forces me to flip back and forth to check references.
In all, Thomas is very clear in his writing. He presents his conservative viewpoint and how he thinks they would benefit America. His views are not those of either party—certainly one knows he disagrees with the bulk of the Democratic Party platform—but he also has no use for the Republican participation in expanding the government.
This is a great book for those who are looking for a clear expression of conservative ideas. It’s a good book for those who are open-mindedly examining various views of the future of this country. If you’re not a fan of pro-American writing that thinks we’ve had great days before and that we are capable of great days ahead, you’ll want to skip it.
As to the ideas? I will say this: many of the problems we face have been tackled by more and more government spending over the past 5 decades, and it hasn’t worked. Maybe we should try less government instead…
I like this book, but I can see how it’s a case of confirmation bias: Thomas espouses what I think. He’s pro-life, pro-gun, pro-small government. If you’re not, you might just hate this book as much as I like it.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins in exchange for the review.
This is the best politically-related book with a groundhog on the cover that I have ever read. It certainly supports the idea that groundhogs are conservative by nature, because otherwise I figure the groundhog would be attacking Cal Thomas instead of being happily photoshopped onto his shoulder. (I’m guessing it’s a composited photo, since there are separate credits for the author pic and the groundhog pic.)
I’m not here to deal with photography, though, I’m supposed to look at the content of What Works: Common Sense Solutions for a Stronger America. So, let’s move on from the cover shot…or the tagline of “It’s groundhog day in Washington.” At least Thomas has settled on our government being locked on February 2. I’m pretty sure they’re all locked on April 1.
First and foremost, if you do not know Thomas’ political views, he’s conservative. Very conservative. If you hold the opposing views, you will most likely not like this book, nor will you like this review. I happen to think most of Thomas’ political viewpoint makes sense, so if you think the government should tax everyone into identical incomes to provide identical lives for everyone, you’ll dislike me, this review, and this book pretty solidly.
If you are a fan of Thomas, you’re aware of his writing style. He’s a newspaper columnist, which basically prefigures the modern blogger: you have to hit the point, hit it memorably, and hit it short. The difference in columnists and bloggers is this: any idiot can blog, but there are limited spots for columnists, so you have to be good at it to do it for a living.
Thomas has been good at it for nearly 30 years. What Works ends up reading like a string of columns organized by topic and concept. This is logical, but it does result in a few places of repetition. Additionally, the brevity lends itself to telling the preferred side of any given story or statistic. Citing one liners from speeches of past Presidents, for example, makes good points, but loses the context of the speech. And that says nothing of the context of history: what portions of President Coolidge’s economic policies contributed to the Great Depression? Yet we see Coolidge cited favorably at some points.
Of course, grasping what points the citations are is hampered by the use of the dreaded ENDNOTE instead of the blessed FOOTNOTE! As always, it’s hard to know if the author is responsible for that, but I will absolutely fuss about any nonfiction book that forces me to flip back and forth to check references.
In all, Thomas is very clear in his writing. He presents his conservative viewpoint and how he thinks they would benefit America. His views are not those of either party—certainly one knows he disagrees with the bulk of the Democratic Party platform—but he also has no use for the Republican participation in expanding the government.
This is a great book for those who are looking for a clear expression of conservative ideas. It’s a good book for those who are open-mindedly examining various views of the future of this country. If you’re not a fan of pro-American writing that thinks we’ve had great days before and that we are capable of great days ahead, you’ll want to skip it.
As to the ideas? I will say this: many of the problems we face have been tackled by more and more government spending over the past 5 decades, and it hasn’t worked. Maybe we should try less government instead…
I like this book, but I can see how it’s a case of confirmation bias: Thomas espouses what I think. He’s pro-life, pro-gun, pro-small government. If you’re not, you might just hate this book as much as I like it.
I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins in exchange for the review.
July 20, 2016
Tagline: It’s Groundhog Day in Washington. This is a metaphor Cal Thomas uses at the beginning and end of his book, where he promotes a historical look at what works for making America great. Thomas compares the continually low respect Congress has as an institution to the movie “Groundhog Day,” which features Bill Murray’s character living the same day over and over again.
With low expectations, (the book has a foreword by Sean Hannity) I began reading what I thought would be a thorough round of bashing Democrats, but was surprised by how the author addressed the problems facing America and the world. Thomas goes into extensive detail, sharing his personal Christian religious views, and illustrating how they are in congruence with those of traditional Jewish teachings as well. Readers do well to recognize he is talking about basic values that reinforce respect of others and their property.
While Thomas himself is unapologetically evangelical, he is not seeking to make religious converts through this book, per se. It is more of an observation that the further American society deviates from traditional values, the lower the standard of living becomes, the more people are placed in jail, and the more single mothers struggle to make ends meet each month.
With most Americans saying the country is moving in the wrong direction, with more Americans out of the labor force than ever before, and the ranks of food stamp recipients at record levels, readers will find new ways of solving problems by looking at common sense solutions that have a historical record of success.
This book gets five stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
With low expectations, (the book has a foreword by Sean Hannity) I began reading what I thought would be a thorough round of bashing Democrats, but was surprised by how the author addressed the problems facing America and the world. Thomas goes into extensive detail, sharing his personal Christian religious views, and illustrating how they are in congruence with those of traditional Jewish teachings as well. Readers do well to recognize he is talking about basic values that reinforce respect of others and their property.
While Thomas himself is unapologetically evangelical, he is not seeking to make religious converts through this book, per se. It is more of an observation that the further American society deviates from traditional values, the lower the standard of living becomes, the more people are placed in jail, and the more single mothers struggle to make ends meet each month.
With most Americans saying the country is moving in the wrong direction, with more Americans out of the labor force than ever before, and the ranks of food stamp recipients at record levels, readers will find new ways of solving problems by looking at common sense solutions that have a historical record of success.
This book gets five stars.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
April 12, 2014
I saw Bob Beckel talk about this book on the show The Five and I knew that I wanted to read it. I thoroughly enjoyed (gave 5 stars and still talk about) Beckel's and Thomas' joint book, Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That Is Destroying America. I felt their solutions were a tad unrealistic given the childishness and "citizens as pawns" mentality ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE of Washington DC, but hey..the solutions were out there.
This book was totally different. This book was a religious montage of the author's religious beliefs, scripture passages and how they fit it policy in DC. I am not one to mix religion, particularly with my politics. This wasn't present in his other book that I read or maybe I missed it, if it was. The religious reference was so pervasive in the book that I ended up going back thinking maybe my review file was screwed up. This did end up lightening up quite a bit, but at that point, I was searching them out.
Now, as with Common Ground, I will state that Mr. Thomas' ideas are great in theory, but he doesn't take into account the idealog morons in Washington. So, again, it comes off as a Utopian book.
I found myself doing everything I could just to get through my review copy.
This book was totally different. This book was a religious montage of the author's religious beliefs, scripture passages and how they fit it policy in DC. I am not one to mix religion, particularly with my politics. This wasn't present in his other book that I read or maybe I missed it, if it was. The religious reference was so pervasive in the book that I ended up going back thinking maybe my review file was screwed up. This did end up lightening up quite a bit, but at that point, I was searching them out.
Now, as with Common Ground, I will state that Mr. Thomas' ideas are great in theory, but he doesn't take into account the idealog morons in Washington. So, again, it comes off as a Utopian book.
I found myself doing everything I could just to get through my review copy.
June 28, 2019
Thomas's book is part political science, part Christian living. This makes sense, as any political view is nearly inseparable with a corresponding worldview. As a Christian who's political views lean mostly conservative, I agreed with most of Thomas' talking points. And while his rhetoric is too partisan to draw many in from the other side, there is some good meat on the bone here for those with more liberal views who are able to keep an open mind. Thomas earns extra points for brevity. While he repeats himself on smaller points, at just over two-hundred pages his book is surely an exercise in restraint compared to cable news and other political science authors, who seem to echo themselves from chapter to chapter and even book to book.
July 26, 2014
The old adage of 'why keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome' is the basis of this book. Although written with a Christian bias, non-believers will find the book just as useful in showing how to correct the political and moral decay the nation is floundering in. As the subtitle says "common sense solutions for a stronger America" is a practical guide for the present and the future. Definitely worth your time to build a better America.
July 27, 2015
Cal Thomas does offer common sense solutions, but I doubt anybody will listen. Why? Because they make sense. What can I say? There are too many agendas out there that demand to be fed. Many people believe in smaller government - at least in principle. But in the end, they don't. As long as we live in a culture that shifts blame and refuses to take responsibility, Thomas' common sense solutions will elude us.
February 4, 2026
Mot of what he said was preaching to the choir although I don’t agree with everything he says (how interesting NOT would that be?). Sometimes he is a little inconsistent but overall I found his points very well made and at least he is articulate. I wish big Government would get out of the way. Give it back to the States and communities and families. Washington shouldn’t be babysitting or helicopter-parenting anybody.
February 22, 2016
It's been a while since Cal Thomas has written a book and this one is right on about what works and what doesn't in government
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews