Description
Book SynopsisAn all-star team of eighteen conservative writers offers a hilarious, insightful, sanctimony-free remix of William Bennett’s
The Book of Virtues—without parental controls.
The Seven Deadly Virtues sits down next to readers at the bar, buys them a drink, and an hour or three later, ushers them into the revival tent without them even realizing it.
The book’s contributors include Sonny Bunch, Christopher Buckley, David “Iowahawk” Burge, Christopher Caldwell, Andrew Ferguson, Jonah Goldberg, Michael Graham, Mollie Hemingway, Rita Koganzon, Matt Labash, James Lileks, Rob Long, Larry Miller, P. J. O’Rourke, Joe Queenan, Christine Rosen, and Andrew Stiles. Jonathan V. Last, senior writer at the
Weekly Standard, editor of the collection, is also a contributor. All eighteen essays in this book are appearing for the first time anywhere.
In the book’s opening essay, P. J. O’Rourke observes: “Virtue has by no means disappeared. It’s as much in public view as ever. But it’s been strung up by the heels. Virtue is upside down. Virtue is uncomfortable. Virtue looks ridiculous. All the change and the house keys are falling out of Virtue’s pants pockets.”
Here are the virtues everyone (including the book’s contributors) was taught in Sunday school but have totally forgotten about until this very moment. In this sanctimony-free zone:
• Joe Queenan observes: “In essence, thrift is a virtue that resembles being very good at Mahjong. You’ve heard about people who can do it, but you’ve never actually met any of them.”
• P. J. O’Rourke notes: “Fortitude is quaint. We praise the greatest generation for having it, but they had aluminum siding, church on Sunday, and jobs that required them to wear neckties or nylons (but never at the same time). We don’t want those either.”
• Christine Rosen writes: “A fellowship grounded in sociality means enjoying the company of those with whom you actually share physical space rather than those with whom you regularly and enthusiastically exchange cat videos.”
• Rob Long offers his version of modern day justice: if you sleep late on the weekend, you are forced to wait thirty minutes in line at Costco.
• Jonah Goldberg offers: “There was a time when this desire-to-do-good-in-all-things was considered the
only kind of integrity: ‘Angels are better than mortals. They’re always certain about what is right because, by definition, they’re doing God’s will.’ Gabriel knew when it was okay to remove a mattress tag and Sandalphon always tipped the correct amount.”
• Sonny Bunch dissects forbearance, observing that the fictional Two Minutes Hate of George Orwell’s
1984 is now actually a reality directed at living, breathing people. Thanks, in part, to the Internet, “Its targets are designated by a spontaneously created mob—one that, due to its hive-mind nature—is virtually impossible to call off.”
By the time readers have completed
The Seven Deadly Virtues, they won’t even realize that they’ve just been catechized into an entirely different—and better—moral universe.
Trade Review“[I]nteresting and thought provoking … endearing enough to make the reader charitably inclined.” —
Wall Street Journal (11/05/2014)
"The Seven Deadly Virtues is 202 readable pages written by a witty group of 18 peculiar moralists, and it deserves similar success. You just know that you are in for a treat when a book on the subject of virtue starts with P.J. O’Rourke and ends with Chris Buckley. In between them, you’ll discover the architects of a new conservative cool that shows that is possible to be moral without being moralistic and authoritative without being authoritarian." —
The Washington Times (11/05/2014)
“It is a light, easy read and worth the time spent for the chuckle, but don’t get the wrong idea. Students of ethics and philosophy will be pleased when Jonathan Last quotes heavyweight philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre (p. 9), Andrew Stiles references C. S. Lewis in his call for temperance, and other essayists remind us of the words of St. Paul, St. Augustine, and other towering figures in the history of Christianity. Overall, I would recommend this book to students because it’s rare to find a humorous contribution to the topic of virtue that is not tearing down morality, but instead gives compelling reasons why we should all strive to be better people.” —Kristin A. Vargas, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,
The Christian LibrarianTable of ContentsAcknowledgments / xi
Introduction: On Virtues, Past and Present / 3
By Jonathan V. Last
Part I: The Cardinal Virtues
Chapter 1: The Seven Deadly Virtues: And the New York Times / 17
By P. J. O’Rourke
Chapter 2: Prudence: Long Live the Queen / 26
By Andrew Ferguson
Chapter 3: Justice: The One Virtue Nobody Really Wants / 38
By Rob Long
Chapter 4: Courage: The Rise of “Shelter in Place” America / 48
By Michael Graham
Chapter 5: Temperance: The Deadliest Virtue / 58
By Andrew Stiles
Chapter 6: Hope: Chicago Is a Place Called Hope / 66
By David Burge (aka Iowahawk)
Chapter 7: Charity: You Can’t Give This Stuff Away / 74
By Mollie Hemingway
Chapter 8: Faith: The Eleventh Commandment / 83
By Larry Miller
Part II: The Everyday Virtues
Chapter 9: Chastity: The Final Taboo / 95
By Matt Labash
Chapter 10: Simplicity: Or, the Many-Splendored Virtues of Hoarding / 110
By James Lileks
Chapter 11: Thrift: The Un-American Virtue / 121
By Joe Queenan
Chapter 12: Honesty: It’s Absolutely the Best Policy (Sometimes) / 129
By Rita Koganzon
Chapter 13: Fellowship: Reach Out and Touch Someone / 139
By Christine Rosen
Chapter 14: Forbearance: Opting Out of the Politicized Life / 147
By Sonny Bunch
Chapter 15: Integrity: Living by the Code of the Superman / 156
By Jonah Goldberg
Chapter 16: Curiosity: Maybe the Cat Got What It Had Coming / 165
By Christopher Caldwell
Chapter 17: Perseverance: All the Way to the End / 174
By Christopher Buckley
Author Bios / 185
