A dear friend once suggested I write a book consisting of blog posts I have written here at The Hot Iron. My response to her, through a dismissively scrunched face, was “who would want to read past things I wrote?” After reading Things That Matter by Charles Krauthammer, I am rethinking that knee-jerk reaction.

Krauthammer was an award-winning columnist, following years as a policy advisor following years as a doctor. When I saw him occasionally as an analyst on various cable news talk shows I had no idea of any of this. As I enjoyed his commentary on TV, I presumed I would enjoy this book, not to mention taking away a few things from it. In this case my reaction was spot-on.

A good look back on history thru a unique lens – In addition to his journey from medicine to writing, Krauthammer was an American who lived in Canada in his youth. His writing style was smart yet educating with a wry sense of humor, and it was clear to anyone reading it of his conservative stance. Even if you didn’t agree with him, he wrote in a way that you would still want to hear what he had to say. This combination of background and style made for the unique pieces curated in this book.

Peace in The Devil's Dictionary – In one article Krauthammer referred the definition of “peace” in The Devil’s Dictionary. I had never heard of the Devil’s Dictionary and wasn’t aware of this satirical book of definitions for common terms. In this case, peace is defined as, “in international affairs, a period of cheating between two periods of fighting.”

More writers should do this – Clearly this book has got me thinking of re-evaluating doing this myself, despite the antithesis of my notoriety as compared to Charles Krauthammer. As well there are many columnists out there who should also do this... and I am looking at you Heidi Stevens!

Things That Matter is not solely a political book, as it talks of life, culture, sports, chess and, yes, politics covering several decades of his columns. I enjoyed his thoughtful writing that presented a perspective of a time when I was much younger and didn’t fully know all going on in the world.

If you are interested in a historical look at world events from the time they occurred I highly recommend Things That Matter. I was given this book several years ago before Krauthammer died and I finally got to reading it now. I passed this book along to my wife who also enjoyed him on TV and my guess is she’ll enjoy his writings as well. Perhaps you can get the book from her when she is done with it, or click any link here to buy a copy of your own – if you do I will earn a few pennies from your purchase.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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