ng Revolution: we must change by learning how to become part of the "third wave" of the Information Age. There is virtually no stone left unturned by Mr. Gingrich's socio-political text: from solving problems of illegal emigration and ending the drug trade - to flat tax, violent crime and freedom from fear. To Renew America accomplishes this in an apparently-unschematic progression of thoughts and experiences.
In Part One, "Visions and Strategies," Newt Gingrich takes us down the path of understanding he followed to become one of the nation's leading politicians and video-viewed historians. (His taped series of lectures on history is one of the most widely-distributed correspondence courses in the country.) Gingrich reveals those authors which shaped his historical philosophy. Specific emphasis is placed on the ten-volume A Study Of History by Arnold Toynbee and Isaac Asimov's Foundation science fiction trilogy. A Study Of History made clear to Gingrich that the knowledge of how to keep our country strong is not inevitably given to us. This concept strengthened Gingrich's inherent understanding that every generation faces potentially serious challenges.
However, the real "shaping" of the young man's "view of the future" was Isaac Asimov and the Foundation series (p. 23). A study of Asimov's sci-fi chronicle made the future congressman realize that civilizations have a fate. The robot epic also convinced the young Gingrich that, while "most people were immersed in day-to-day activities" (p.25), his own calling was to change the world.
We are certainly not the first civilization to confront moral decay from within. But we are definitely the first generation in American history to face such a challenge (p.25, Gingrich's emphasis).
The Speaker of the House is deeply committed to the concept that "large-scale events create the framework within which ordinary people lead their lives" (p.25). To Renew America, ...