Constitution Series

Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell

MAVERICK ~ A biography of Thomas Sowell, one of America's most influential conservative thinkers.

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Thomas Sowell is one of the great social theorists of our age. In a career spanning more than a half century, he has written over thirty books, covering topics from economic history and social inequality to political theory, race, and culture.

In the first-ever biography of Sowell, Jason L. Riley gives this iconic thinker his due. Maverick showcases Sowell's most significant writings and traces the life events that shaped his ideas and resulted in a Black orphan from the Jim Crow South becoming one of our foremost public intellectuals.

 

Sowell began his life's journey in rural North Carolina. As a boy, his family migrated to Harlem, NY, where his intellectual hunger and lifelong love of learning was kick-started with an introduction to the Harlem Library and culminated at the esteemed Hoover Institution. Between Harlem and Hoover, Sowell's intellectual honesty and quest for facts took him into the Marine's Combat Camera Corps during the Korean War, then onto Harvard, Columbia University and the University of Chicago for his Ph.D. in economics.

The program will feature insights from Sowell, interviews with colleagues, associates and with those he has inspired, revealing why the intensely private Thomas Sowell is considered by many to be "the smartest person in the room."

Man wearing glasses and a suit is speaking into a microphone.

Distinguished Guest Speaker

A man in glasses and a light blue shirt is standing outdoors, looking at the camera with a slight smile. There is an architectural structure blurred in the background.

Jason Riley

Distinguished Guest Speaker & Author
Member of The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board

Jason Riley is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, where he has written about politics, economics, education, immigration and social inequality for more than 20 years.

"You're about to meet one of the greatest minds of the past half-century," said Riley. "His story is both fascinating and illuminating."

Steven-Pinker

Guest Moderator

Steven Pinker, Ph.D. 

• Harvard University Johnstone Family Professor, Dept. of Psychology
• Time Magazine "100 Most Influential People in the World Today"
• Author of 12 Books including How The Mind Works

With Appreciation