Out of the Ashes takes a look at the world today and all the chaos and misery it contains and seeks to find a way forward that will help us regain control and take back what has been lost. If you've read Esolen before, then you know what to expect. For those who haven't, this is just as good a place to get started as any. Each chapter is dedicated to ideas for how to recover a particular aspect of society, such as beauty, school, manhood, or play. The author discusses how things were, what has gone wrong, and then provides some ideas for how to make things better. Like most of Esolen's works, it's hard to put down once you get started. Conservatives will probably get more out of this than progressives, and Catholics more than Protestants, but there is much here that everyone can agree on. Highly recommended for Esolen fans, those interested in building a better society, or Catholic social teachings. ( )