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How the Russians Invented Baseball : And Other Essays of Enlightenment (1989)

John Leo is best known these days for the column he writes in US News, wherein he has apparently made it his personal mission to fight the forces of political correctness. For that alone he deserves our attention and thanks. But I found this collection of some of his older stuff in a remainder bin, most of it culled from his years at TIME magazine, and it is not only quite good, it is a revelation. John Leo is truly funny. All this time I'd assumed he was just a bitter old crank (and I mean that in a good way), now it turns out that he's a talented satirist too. I don't know that I'd put him in the exalted ranks of PJ O'Rourke, Andrew Ferguson, and Christopher Buckley, but he certainly ranks just one rung below them.

In addition to several excellent pieces on language, most of the book consists of Leo's comic colloquies between Ralph and Wanda, a married couple he utilizes to play out the battle of the sexes. Though he initially made Wanda a mere foil for the loutish Ralph, he eventually let her more than hold her own in their arguments. The result is a set of very amusing social commentaries--which fairly well decimate some of the sillier and trendier ideas of the Left--presented in the form of dialogues. Some of the stuff is, of course, dated (the title essay for instance refers to a specious old claim made by the Soviet Union), but its almost all still fun, and well worth reading if you happen to find a copy.

(Reviewed:15-Apr-01)

Grade: (B)

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How the Russians Invented Baseball : And Other Essays of Enlightenment (1989)

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