Why Not Junk the Nobel Peace Prizes?

Why Not Junk the Nobel Peace Prizes?

When the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Barack Obama, many, myself included, felt that the Norwegian committee had so embarrassed itself as to devalue the prize permanently. A Dallas service station sign, at the time, captured the sentiment precisely: "Free Nobel Peace Prize with Oil Change."

Jay Nordlinger's masterful new book "Peace, They Say" has changed my mind.

Not that Nordlinger dissents from the skeptical view of the 2009 prize or many others. But in his careful review of every prize and every recipient since 1901, he builds a case that the capacity of the prize to do good...