The Decline of the West

John: Okay, so this is a screwball tip that came about because I think first of all, Mimi started reading this book. And then I had one of our producers write me, “Are there any history books I should read?” I took because I would lecture about that. Oh, that guy. British. That guy. I know the British books or the history changing for the Brits. And it was—you’re going to have to dig this one up. But I’ll give a little lecture about the book. It’s one of the greatest books ever written. Very few people probably have read it because it was written in 1918. So that kind of limits the exposure. But it’s very readable. It’s written in a modern style, so it’s not written in some old-fashioned way. And it’s The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler. Volume one.

Adam: I think we’ve discussed this book.

John: Yes, we have. Yeah, because Michael Savage used to promote this book constantly. And he always said, and the reason we said it, because I always got a kick out of the fact that Michael Savage, the erudite intellectual, always said OTTO Spengler. And I think he does to this day. He thinks the guy is Otto Spengler. Oswald Spengler. So Oswald Spengler’s book, The Decline of the West. And I would say before you read the book, read his Wiki entry. It’s quite interesting. He’s like one of these kind of super geniuses. And The Decline of the West is a two-volume book. Do not bother with volume two. Volume two came out about three or four years later. And you could, as a writer, immediately start reading volume two. And I can hear it in the tone of the book. It goes like this: “Oh, the publisher made me. I promised I was going to do a second volume. And I’m going to have to do it. And I’m going to write it. This is it right now. This is the second volume. I’m writing it. It’s kind of a rehash of the first volume. But I hate the fact that I have to write this book.” So that’s what the second volume is all about. So forget it. Just read volume one.

Adam: When was this published originally, this book?

John: 1918.

Adam: So you think that the publishers back then were already a-holes?

John: Back then? They’ve been a-holes. That’s the publisher’s job.