Political Economy Before Adam Smith

Political Economy Before Adam Smith

Early English Tracts on Commerce Edited by John Ramsay McCulloch. CL Press, 2024.  Paperback, 693 pages, $19.50. Reviewed by Gregory M. Collins. John Ramsay McCulloch (1789-1864) doesn’t roll off the zealous tongues of free marketeers as smoothly as Adam Smith, but he...
Science and Meaning: Parallel Tracks?

Science and Meaning: Parallel Tracks?

Purpose: What Evolution and Human Nature Imply About the Meaning of Our Existence By Samuel T. Wilkinson. Pegasus Books, 2024. Hardcover, 352 pages, $29.95.  Reviewed by Gene Callahan. Samuel T. Wilkinson, a professor of psychiatry at Yale University, has written a...
Geopolitics and the Making of the Modern World

Geopolitics and the Making of the Modern World

The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars and the Making of the Modern World By Hal Brands. W.W. Norton, 2025. Hardcover, 320 pages, $29.99. Reviewed by John P. Rossi. Hal Brands, author of a handful of books on foreign policy and a professor at Johns Hopkins (as well...
The Context for Human Dignity

The Context for Human Dignity

On the Dignity of Society: Catholic Social Teaching and Natural Law By F. Russell Hittinger. The Catholic University of America Press, 2024. Paperback, 490 pages, $39.95. Reviewed by Rev. Joseph Scolaro. The Church needs a strong leader now more than ever. The dignity...
Between Greatness and Hubris 

Between Greatness and Hubris 

Gems of American History: The Lecturer’s Art By Walter A. McDougall. Encounter Books, 2025. Hardcover, 336 pages, $32.99. Reviewed by Nicholas Callaghan. As we rapidly approach the semiquincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, a question remains at the fore...