Secure A Copy The Point Of It All: A Lifetime Of Great Loves And Endeavors Drafted By Charles Krauthammer Presented In Softcover

are a few bright spots here that dissuade me from handing out the onestar rating, Primary among them are cogent and intellectually consistent arguments on medical ethics, which I find to be connected indubitably to the author's deeply held views on suicide.
Krauthammer's enduring passion for these topics is obviously rooted in his experiences as both a former medical doctor and a disabled man or am I flirting too closely with his dreaded identity politics.
Correspondingly, the sense of urgency he brings to these particular debates lends a substance to his writing that is otherwise lacking in, say, hisword WaPo paeans to military interventionism.
In fact, in a collection of almostarticles, I marked only one as being remarkable: a longer piece from The New Republic that systematically dismantles the wouldbe gravitas of a PBS documentary called Choosing Suicide, which commemorates New York City artist Jo Roman, who chose to overdose on sleeping pills after learning she had breast cancer.
This article also scores the anthology's lone piece of biting wit:

Jo considers this act a work of art, "the final brush stroke on the canvas of my life.
" It is a claim taken with utmost seriousness by her friends, . . "This is the greatest creative act of your life," gushes one friend, An unkind reviewer, taking note of Jo's paintings and sculptures strewn around the apartment, might concur with this judgment,

Tellingly, this article was written in: four years before Krauthammer committed himself to churning out a weekly fatalistic epistle for the Washington Post and its syndicates, andyears before he joined the cast of our current State Media organization, Fox News.


Krauthammer seems to have died content with his life, I do find it regrettable that he did not live longer into the Trump presidency, Although he writes of his loathing for vigorous selfexamination and introspection, I wonder if ever he would have addressed what I consider the greatest irony tragedy of America's conservative intelligentsia: that afteryears of urgently warning the masses about the evils of the totalitarian left, it was their own side that produced the first chief executive in American history to intone from his inaugural dais the classic maxim of the autocrat: "I alone can fix it.
" Having previously read Things That Matter, I had no hesitation in picking up this posthumous sequel, Once more, I was titillated by numerous stories that were either excerpts from his days at The Washington Post or were speeches by him.
The man was clearly a deep thinker on issues and, though at times eloquent in his analysis, could likewise be equally blunt in an opinion.
It is this dichotomy that makes reading his posts most enjoyable,
It is a shame he is gone, and I will miss his repartee on Fox News and in the Post, Unbelievably brilliant and wellwritten. Regardless of which “side” of politics you fall, Charles uses reason, logic and history to defend his analysis, The forward, written by his son, is a beautiful tribute to a man, who lived his life showing us that no matter what happens to our bodies, our mind is ours.
His mind is brilliant. To me he epitomizes “fair and balanced, ” This man knew history inside and out, The book essentially a compilation of op ed articles he wrote for newspapers and news outlets, Must read. Wow. What an incredibly insightful writer and mind, I have to admit that this is the first time that I've read any of Krauthammer's columns, I always thought he came off well on Fox News, but his writing is so much more powerful, Krauthammer has a gift to pithily explain the opposing view, but honestly, He presents nuance that is lacking in today's discourse, RIP Mr. Krauthammer. What a great, decent, and intelligent man,

The book is a compilation of Charles speeches and articles, Most arepages long. It made for a great accompaniment to the current novels Im reading, In between all my novels Id read an article from this book, Im reading way too many books at once presently, .

Charles has a great many instances of doling out words of wisdom, This one really resonated with me:, . . ”Dont be afraid to choose, and dont be afraid to start all over if you have to, . . Choose what you love. And if you dont love what youve chosen, choose again, ”

Completely loved it, I often referred to Charles Krauthammer as “the smartest man in America” and if I found myself President he would have been my first pick for chief of staff.
This book is a posthumous collection of columns, essays and editorials he wrote, arranged topically, His son put it together and, while it has merit, its not quite as cohesively profound as his previous book, Things That Matter, But regardless of my nitpicking, a few minutes reading Krauthammer beats a few minutes of reading most other people, And, full disclosure, I havent actually finished this one, I read it in sections in between other reads, This man truly knew the things that matter, and understood the point of it all, I learned that Australia has been the only ally to the United States in every military conflict since, This is one of the many things I learned from the writings of the late Charles Krauthammer, He loved the island of Australia so much that he even married a woman from Australia, Krauthammer used a wheelchair for most of his adult life, and I have used a wheelchair my entire life, He believed that not every place can be wheelchair accessible, but that will not stop me from trying to enjoy life, He points out the Kennedy Center is completely wheelchair accessible, I will make it a goal of mine to go to the Kennedy Center to see a live performance after learning this, I am inspired by the Krauthammer's thoughts about Jim Dickson He is a blind man who attempted to sail across the Atlantic Ocean, but he only managed to sail to Bermuda.
Dickson came up short in reaching his goal, but it did not diminish his enjoyment of sailing because he could experience sailing using his other senses.
This is the kind of writing that inspires me to try new challenges,

Four Essays on Liberty by a British philosopher named Isiah Berlin is a book that he loved, Four Essays on Liberty is a book encouraged Krauthammer to learn from as many sources

and experiences as possible as a young man, People who learn from many different sources are called foxes, People who learn from a primary source are called hedgehogs, I will strive to be a fox, Krauthammer advocated remaining calm at all times, He believed in self reflection, but he also believed that looking outwardly in the world to be successful, He shared this advice with college students in Montreal, This is great advice for people of any age, I really like this book, Krauthammer is a singularly brilliant voice in American discourse, After so many decades, his voice has been silenced, But, in his waning months, he left us all a gift, The Point of it All, a sort of greatest hits collection of his columns in the Washington Post and the New Republic.
These columns carry Krauthammer's gentlemanly voice, one that speaks to you with reason, logic, and humor, unlike so many of the shrill voices yelling today from all sides of political discourse.
His columns range in date from the eighties through toand encompass many of the world events that we all lived through, particularly the fall of the Soviet Empire with a barely hearable whimper.
But, the columns do not only focus on current events, Rather, be prepared for discussions about chess, about baseball, about burying his father in addition to thoughts about Reagan, about affirmative action, about disabled lifts in movie theaters, about the majesty of the Constitution, and about so many things.
Easy to read thoughtprovoking pieces, well put together, well organized, Many thanks to the publisher for providing a copy for review, An outstanding collection of one of the indispensable political columnists, commentators, and intellectuals of the lateth century and the firstyears of thest century.
You could not be indifferent to Krauthammer, Even when one disagreed with him as I did many, many, many times especially over Iraq and the War on Terror I always respected and valued him for his insights, appeals to reason, and the incandescent quality of his writing.


To read this collection is to be reminded of the power of words and of a time when American conservatism was animated by ideas rather than base tribalism, nativism, and deepening affections for Putinesque authoritarianism.


I give fourandhalf to 'The Point of It All' and strongly recommend it as the politically minded of every persuasion will be enlightened.
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