Things That Matter

introduction

I. THE BOOK

What matters? Lives of the good and the great, the innocence of dogs, the cunning of cats, the elegance of nature, the wonders of space, the perfectly thrown outfield assist, the difference between historical guilt and historical responsibility, homage and sacrilege in monumental architecture, fashions and follies and the finer uses of the F-word.

What matters? Manners and habits, curiosities and conundrums social and ethical: Is a doctor ever permitted to kill a patient wishing to die? Why in the age of feminism do we still use the phrase women and children ? How many lies is one allowed to tell to advance stem cell research?

What matters? Occam s razor, Fermat s last theorem, the Fermi paradox in which the great man asks: With so many habitable planets out there, why in God s name have we never heard a word from a single one of them?

These are the things that most engage me. They fill my days, some trouble my nights. They give me pause, pleasure, wonder. They make me grateful for the gift of consciousness. And for three decades they have occupied my mind and commanded my pen.

I don t claim these things matter to everyone. Nor should they. I have my eccentricities. I ve driven from Washington to New York to watch a chess match. Twice. I ve read Stephen Hawking s A Brief History of Time. Also twice, though here as a public service to reassure my readers that this most unread bestseller is indeed as inscrutable as they thought. And perhaps most eccentric of all, I left a life in medicine for a life in journalism devoted mostly to politics, while firmly believing that what really matters, what moves the spirit, what elevates the mind, what fires the imagination, what makes us fully human are all of these endeavors, disciplines, confusions and amusements that lie outside politics.

Accordingly, this book was originally going to be a collection of my writings about everything but politics. Things beautiful, mysterious,

Charles Krauthammer, winner of the Pulitzer Prize, was a syndicated columnist, political commentator and physi­cian. His column was syndicated to 400 news­papers worldwide. He was a nightly panelist on Fox News s Special Report with Bret Baier. He s a former member of the President s Council on Bioethics and of Chess Journalists of America.

Required reading Krauthammer is among the very best and this is the best of the best, selected by him, with an engaging and fascinating introduction Amazingly fresh, and full of thought-provoking formulations and arguments. The Weekly Standard

  A fantastic read, a cerebral read, a fun read. Guy Benson, Townhall

It s going to be a big hit. Bill O Reilly, The O Reilly Factor (October 21, 2013)

Krauthammer s assets include steel-trap logic, an epée wit, a profound sense of history, and a withering contempt for journalists who would rather cringe in the dark than bring the truth to light.   City Journal

America, you ve got to read this for your own great pleasure and relief. Hugh Hewitt (October 31, 2013)

"The best American columnists make their British counterparts look like bumbling amateurs,but none of them writes with more sense,sensibility and sanity than the Washington Post's Charles Krauthammer. Things That Matter, selected from a lifetime of writing, bears comparison with the greatest of American prose." -Daniel Johnson, Standpoint

"Usually thought of as a conserva-tive, this syndicated columnist has won both the left-wing People for the American Way s First Amendment Award and the right-wing Bradley Foundation s first $250,000 Bradley Prize. Readers of all political persuasions will find plenty here that s thought-provoking and worthwhile." -Pittsburg Tribune-Review

Krauthammer s first collection in more than 20 years is a priceless introduction to the columnist s writing. And for those who have thrilled at the sight of a Krauthammer byline for decades, Things That Matter is a window into the master polemicist s habits of mind, heart, and technique.  -Matthew Continetti, Commentary

For three decades, Charles Krauthammer has enriched American political discourse with his sharply-honed analysis, humane values, and