The English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon wrote the following passage in his book, The Essays (1625), "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curiously; and some few to be read wholly, and with diligence and attention." Bacon's statement can also be applied to authors, some of which are challenging while others are simply challenged. As is the case in life, the greatness of an author, or lack of greatness, is a matter of personal taste. In this month's column, I am going to review some recent publications by authors whose work, I feel, must not be overlooked.

I. Jacques Barzun

There are few people who write more eloquently than Jacques Barzun, a retired Columbia University professor of history. He is the author of more than thirty books, including Of Human Freedom (1939), The American University (1968) and From Dawn to Decadence (2000). In the June 2000 issue of The New Criterion, Roger Kimball described Barzun as "a voice of moderation and sanity in American intellectual life," an individual that regards intellectual history as "less an academic than an existential pursuit; reading him, you understand that curiosity about the past is at the same time a species of self-interrogation."

For those who wish to learn more about this great academicùand don't have the available funds to complete a proper libraryùI highly recommend A Jacques Barzun Reader: Selections From His Works (HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 615 pages, ISBN: 0066210194). Michael Murray, the book's editor, has done a superb job in organizing Barzun's work under different subsections, including science, language and style, teaching and learning, and music. This is perhaps the most complete collection of essays and chapters one could ask for, tackling everything from Diderot to Lionel Trilling, from opera to (get ready for this) baseball.

To understand Barzun is to understand our own selves. He is an inquisitive individual of varied interests and tastes, trying to discover the true meaning of art while at the same time examining the history of the word "Man". He enjoys learning about famous people, including Abraham Lincoln and George Bernard Shaw. And he finds a story in many areas of lifeùin the thrill of reading crime fiction and in the game of baseball that he views as "the true realm of clear ideas."

Readers will begin to appreciate Barzun for his intellectual spark and brilliant writing style. They will learn about the differences between scholars and critics, based on historical changes in the teaching of humanities in the nineteenth century, the aim of which was to make the subject area "scientific". This changed the nature of academia: a scholar was "distinguished from the critic by his unwillingness, and soon by his inability, to interest anybody but his alter ego at another university," while the critic "was a man with ideas, an excrescence comparable to the prehensile tail which man as fully evolved scholar had lost." Barzun discusses the necessity of having a common tongue (or language) in our society. Moving away from the standard notion that a common tongue would be nothing more than a "device of snobbery and oppression," he astutely notes that it is the most "democratic form of language par excellence," a way to promote sophisticated development and expression from all groups and cultures. In an extraordinary paper, Barzun scoffs at the decision of Romantic thinkers in building up William Shakespeare as a hero of literature and culture. The retired academic won't soon be invited to the Stratford Festival of Canadaùlet alone Stratford-upon-Avon in Britainùafter writing that the transformation of the Bard, a "classically ignorant, and fault-written writer, who could not turn out six good lines in a row and who should have blotted a thousand, into æthe chief of poets, a veritable hero and demigod', is one of the most extraordinary spectacles in the history of reputations."

A Jacques Barzun Reader should not be regarded as a chore to complete, but rather as a joy to uphold. You will find yourself engrossed in this book on many lazy weekends. Barzun will challenge your way of thinking, and make you a better (and more well-read) person.

II. Bernard Lewis

The New York Times Book Review declared Bernard Lewis, a professor emeritus of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University, the "doyen of Middle Eastern Studies." In fact, Lewis has become the visible academic since the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center. With incredible knowledge of history under his belt, and a fluid writing style, it's easy to understand why he is held in such high esteem.

Two books written by Lewis have come out in the last six months. The first book, The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 166 pages, ISBN: 0297646141), was originally published in 1967 and reissued in 2001. It is a sensational work, the perfect introduction to the historical birth of the assassin. The assassins were part of a secret sect known as the Ismailis, which tried to disrupt the existing political and religious order by using long-term violent measures and revolutionary concepts as a means of recreating society. As noted by Lewis, the assassins were a colossal failure, since they "did not overthrow the existing order," and "did not even succeed in holding a single city of any size." Unfortunately, the messianic appeal of the ancient assassins persists. Tin-pan despots and terrorist organizations such as Osama bin Laden and al-Quaida are the modern-day assassins trying to challenge western democratic ideals.

An excellent accompaniment to The Assassins is Lewis's newest book, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response (Oxford University Press, 180 pages, ISBN: 0195144201). Eerily, this book was in the page proof stage when the horror of 9-11 permanently changed our world-view. It provides a thorough analysis of the vast cultural differences between Judeo-Christian societies and Islam. The Muslim culture was created in a manner similar to Constantine's conversion to Christianity, the latter described by Lewis as a "Christianization of Rome andùsome would addùa Romanization of Christ." Devout followers of Islam do not recognize a native secularism, with the notable exception of Turkey, and fully believe in the Holy Law of God and the need for an Islamic order. The refusal to accept western-style ideas and the rejection of secular thought has led to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, gaining dominance in three Arab countries: Iran, Sudan and (until recently) Afghanistan. Lewis also notes that a rise in "neurotic fantasies and conspiracy theories" in Middle Eastern countries, aided by a self-critical analysis of where religion and the social order has gone astray, is commonplace.

It's doubtful that What Went Wrong? would have attracted as much attention if the World Trade Center hadn't been attacked. That would have been a shame, because the book provides an excellent explanation of the fundamental differences between Western and Islamic societies. To alleviate certain confusions with regard to the Muslim world, Lewis is the perfect academic to consult.

III. Richard Pipes

Richard Pipes, a professor emeritus of history at Harvard University, is regarded as one of the finest writers on Russian political history. He has written numerous books, including The Russian Revolution (1991) and Property and Freedom (1999). He also served under U.S. President Ronald Reagan as the National Security Council adviser on Soviet and Eastern European Affairs from 1981-1982.

There is little doubt that Pipes has had a distinguished career as an academic and conservative thinker to date. Yet, it may turn out that his recent book, Communism: A History (The Modern Library, 175 pages, ISBN: 0679640509), will exceed all of his past accomplishments. In less than 200 pages, Pipes beautifully dissects communist thought and provides ample explanation as to the reasons behind the ultimate collapse of the Soviet Union.

The political theory of communism is examined from a number of different perspectives. The weakness of its dogma, however, is self-evident. Pipes states that Marxism "violated its most basic feature, namely open-mindedness and a willingness to adjust theory to new evidence." For all of Karl Marx's utopian theories, both the author and his political concept were cool to different views, meaning that Marxism "was dogma masquerading as science." Vladimir Lenin tried to incorporate both Marxist ideology and mild capitalism during his time in power. Pipes proves that Lenin was not against "imposing a ruthless despotism," and was more than content to resort to "unlimited terror to destroy his opponents." Stalin, the purest form of a tyrant in Soviet history, used "extreme violence" on the part of the government to push the process of collectivization, especially by creating artificial famine in the Ukraine, North Caucasus and Kazakhstan.

That's why Pipes makes the following important assessment: "Communism was not a good idea that went wrong; it was a bad idea." This unworkable political ideology introduced authoritarian rule, and severely punished the working class it claimed to represent. Marx, Lenin and Stalin were wrong to assume that private property was a "transient historical phenomenon," and that human nature "is infinitely malleable." As well, Communism's failure lies in its inability to impose an artificial equality as well as recognize that ethnic and territorial loyalties, when combined with class structure, tend to undermine the practical realization of a theoretical possibility. Pipes also notes that Lenin's military model, in which "Soviet Communism and its emulators militarized politics, subordinating it to a central command," failed when its ultimate goal of world domination wasn't attained.

So-called scholars of Russian thought will undoubtedly smirk at Communism, and claim that there is nothing new contained in this book. But they would be mistaken: rarely has a political philosophy been evaluated in such a succinct manner. Pipes was quickly able to get to the crux of the issue without shoveling a fair amount of, shall we say, "good ol' useless information." And that's no small feat.

BiC readers will not go wrong in purchasing the cited books by Barzun, Lewis and Pipes. These are three great authors who should be read.