The University Bookman
Reviewing Books that Build Culture
Support the University Bookman during our annual Kirktober Fundraiser, and receive an audio copy of Kirk’s short story, What Shadows We Pursue.
Kirktober 2025: James Panero and Adam Simon on the Haunted House
October 28, 2025
On Tuesday, October 28, at 6:00 PM, you are invited to join University Bookman editor Luke Sheahan, Hollywood screenwriter Adam Simon, and New Criterion executive editor James Panero, as they explore the theme of the haunted house in gothic literature and its relationship to conservative thought and imagination.
Register for this free webinar here.
Judging as Realpolitik
“The horror, the horror.” Stephen B. Presser guides us through the scary world behind a new book on judicial tactics.
Supporting Statecraft
Michael J. Ard welcomes a comprehensive new history on the use and misuse of foreign intelligence.
Why Moral Revolutions Matter
Brian A. Smith reviews a book that better explains the reasons people wage war.
The Last Years of Theodore Roosevelt
Carl Rollyson celebrates David Pietrusza’s historical biography of Theodore Roosevelt’s final struggles against Wilsonian idealism.
Casting Extras in The Truman Show
Titus Techera looks back on the prophetic appeal of The Truman Show after twenty years.
The Price of the Peculiar Institution
Casey Chalk reviews a book on the costs of American slavery, its lingering effects, and the role of the North.
Ancient Walls and New Bridges
Hungarian Ambassador Eduard Habsburg walks Rome’s Aurelian Wall and reflects on the sensual fascination of old walls.
Can Bureaucrats Be Virtuous?
John Ehrett reviews Bernardo Zacka’s surprisingly humane look at the inner life and professional dysfunction of the front-line bureaucrat.
A Rewarding Experience Awaits
Stephen Schmalhofer spends time with an art retrospective guided by famed Met curator Philippe de Montebello.
The Book Gallery
A collection of conversations with Bookman editor Luke C. Sheahan and writers and authors of imagination and erudition.
