A book club for conservatives and liberals who want to get out of their echo chambers and bridge the great divide. Buy the book, read it, and come join us for a lively discussion. This month’s book is Viewpoint Diversity by John Tomasi and Bernard Schweizer
About the book:
Viewpoint diversity is suddenly on everyone’s lips — yet few agree on what it really means. Is it about political balance? Free speech? Academic inclusion? Or something far more vital — the courage to engage across difference?
In Viewpoint Diversity: What It Is, Why We Need It, and How to Get It, leading heterodox thinkers tackle one of the most urgent questions of our time: how to keep open inquiry and constructive disagreement alive amid rising conformity on both left and right. Spanning essays on higher education, politics, culture, and the arts, this bold collection offers both sharp diagnosis and practical solutions for cultivating genuine pluralism.
Timely, provocative, and refreshingly constructive, Viewpoint Diversity makes the case for a richer, freer, and more resilient public culture — one that thrives not in spite of disagreement, but because of it.
More about the book club:
We’ve all felt it: Whether we’ve argued pointlessly with someone on social media, felt our blood pressure rise as we’ve fought over politics with family members, or simply veered delicately away from certain topics, it’s hard to ignore the chasm between those who hold opposing political views. And it feels like it’s getting worse, that politics are getting uglier, and that reasonable discussion is falling by the wayside. What can ordinary people do to bridge the great divide? We can read books that smart and reasonable people have written in defense of their views and we can talk about these books with others who may or may not wear the political stripes we do. Come to Shelf Life Books for a monthly book club that does just that. Ideally, participants will have read the book assigned for that day, and will come prepared to discuss it. All of the books on our list will be made available by Shelf Life. We will meet from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the last Saturday of every month (except for April).