The Things That Matter Most

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 2 MAY 1994

A blustery foreword by Rush Limbaugh sets the tone for this collection of articles by syndicated columnist Thomas, who considers liberalism the greatest threat to contemporary America and condemns homosexuals, popular music and the ``cultural, media and academic elites.'' Thomas's rhetoric makes his partisan views sound more populist than political: ``Common sense'' is a litany in these columns, and for Thomas ``a little censorship,'' school prayer and the GOP make sense, while welfare, sex education and abortion do not. Baby boomers come under particular attack for ``their relentless pursuit of social anarchy.'' Thomas shows no patience for those who, in his opinion, use their freedom of expression improperly, among them the ACLU and network television. Thomas's prose is blunt, his arguments visceral rather than reasoned. Accordingly, only on his terms and through his conception of American society might this book be considered anything but dogmatism. 150,000 first printing; $150,000 ad/promo; Conservative Book Club dual main selection; Doubleday Book Club alternate; author tour.