Jeremy Lott – författare

"With verve, gusto, and just the right amount of humility, Jeremy Lott argues that hypocrisy isn''t as bad as advertised, and that the critics of hypocrisy are often hypocritical themselves. A perfect read and a necessary corrective for this political season." --Glenn Reynolds, Instapundit.com

"Lott argues convincingly that acts of hypocrisy can be embraced, not dismissed. In this highly-readable book, he makes the counterintuitive suggestion that hypocrisy is a natural element of the human condition." --David Mark, author, Going Dirty: The Art of Negative Campaigning

"The popular usage of the term ''hypocrite'' is expansive like a shotgun blast, and is often brought in to describe someone we don''t like, doing something that we disagree with, involving some sort of perceived contradiction."

It''s an old familiar routine. Dick accuses Jane of rank hypocrisy, while ignoring his own moral inconsistencies. Jane is outraged by the charge, and fires right back. And author Jeremy Lott? Well he''s blowing a wet raspberry at the whole ridiculous spectacle.

In Defense of Hypocrisy deconstructs pat prejudices and shallow moralism to probe hypocrisy''s real significance, asking:

In Defense of Hypocrisy is part political, part religious, part philosophical, and all honesty. Though the word has long since reached epithet status, Lott beckons the reader to see the real virtue-impoverished agendas behind the accusations and embrace a sturdier, more realistic understanding of a much-maligned vice.

The charges have been brought, the jury bought, and the judge clears his throat to hand down the expected judgment:

"Hypocrisy is a most damnable offense. . . "

"Not so fast," says Jeremy Lott. "I object!"

In Defense of Hypocrisy is the case for a mistrial-a thought-provoking, wit-filled, morally-charged, rollicking justification of good people who behave badly. Lott tackles the alleged two-facedness of popular targets from Bill Bennett to Dick Morris to Britney Spears. Far from focusing merely on politics, Lott looks at philosophy, history, theology, and pop culture to give the hypocrites their due.

This gutsy exposé of the corrosive uses of hypocrisy accusations will challenge you to open your mind, hang the jury, and decide for yourself:

Is hypocrisy really so bad?

Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience.

William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008) was a voice to millions, hosting the long-running “Firing Line” TV show, writing more than 50 books, and launching National Review magazine in 1955 to “fix the newly cast conservative cannons on the enemies of collectivism, liberalism, and Communism.”

Jeremy Lott makes a nuanced case for the profound influence of Buckley’s faith—he was a Catholic with Irish-Protestant roots—on his emergence as a modern-day Jonah, warning of “the doom to come if America didn’t change course, quickly.” Buckley viewed the challenges of his era as ultimately religious in nature. Like the other members of his colorful family, he believed that God, family, and country—in that order—“demanded our unswerving loyalty.”

Lott traces the thread of faith that ran through Buckley’s public life, from his call for a return to orthodoxy at Yale University to his doomed but entertaining run for mayor of New York, from his jaw-dropping verbal joust with Gore Vidal to his surprisingly fresh final thoughts on the end of the Cold War.