Introduction: The Stories.

Choosing a Path in the Woods.

1. The World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

A Look in the Mirror is Not Reassuring.

An Ancient Fable Says It All.

Lead Us Not Into Temptation.

The Village.

How Bad Can It Get? The Unspeakable Crimes of the Very Good.

The Human Alone.

2. The Lethal Marriage of Ideology and Opportunity.

The Pendulum Swings Right.

Free Market Liberalism and Village Conservatism.

The Origins of the Moral Human.

Necessary Virtues.

The Collapse of Every Restriction.

The Transformation of the Landscape.

The Pension Betrayal.

The Hood Robin Syndrome.

Permission to Steal.

3. Humility and Hope.

Turning the Elephant.

Picking Up the Pieces.

Learning to Tell the Truth.

Regaining the Duty of Stewardship.

Re-visioning the Republic.

Ending the Crime Wave.

Finding Peace.

A Concluding Note.

Bibliography.

Index