If it's good enough for the Instapundit. . .

I'm in the middle of reading S.M. Stirling's newest book Dies the Fire, which is enjoyable, if you like end-of-the-world alternate history. Apparently, I'm not alone, as The Instapundit himself also recommends it.

His disquiet about the SCA being the inheritors of the earth is very well founded: we're a pretty weird bunch at the best of times!

Update (25 August): Glenn Reynolds writes more about this here. He finishes off the article this way:

A society that's rich and free will have citizens who — entirely on their own — will develop a wide range of skills. Most of these skills will never provide more than hobby-level amusement for their owners, but in the aggregate they provide a resource that could not easily be developed through any sort of government program. And that's a kind of disaster preparedness, too.

Both cool and very, very true.