A book I just finished offers lessons to the increasing number of young people who fail to appreciate the virtues of the free market or of the American opportunity society. It also reminds us that legal immigration, following the rules, can be beneficial to society.

Unfortunately, The Dutchman’s Journey, by Jan van Meerveld (written with Carter Hillyer, my uncle, as his scribe), is privately published and available (for now) only through Pass Christian Books in coastal Mississippi — but that also means the point of this column is not to sell the few copies that remain but instead to really focus on the lessons readers can take from it.