The University Bookman

Reviewing Books that Build Culture

Join friends of the Bookman in New York City on December 8, 2025 for the Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture.

William F. Buckley Jr.: Literary Figure 

“…the American public intellectual might best be appreciated as a literary figure. Producing about 350,000 words for publication yearly at the peak of his career, Buckley was never at a loss for what to say or how to say it.”

Defending the Christian Faith

“In 100 Tough Questions For Catholics: Common Obstacles To Faith Today… David G. Bonagura, Jr. gives bite-sized answers to dozens of big questions about the faith.”

William F. Buckley Jr.: Literary Figure 

“…the American public intellectual might best be appreciated as a literary figure. Producing about 350,000 words for publication yearly at the peak of his career, Buckley was never at a loss for what to say or how to say it.”

Reality Check for Politics

“…Lawrence Mead throws tact out the window and, instead, lays bare our collective failure to properly and honestly address myriad social changes that have occurred since the 1960s—namely, widening cultural difference and group balkanization; unprecedented levels of immigration from the non-West; and the rise of identitarianism, especially from the social justice-Left.”

How to Love What is Permanent

“Throughout the book, Gibbs pleads with his readers that we not only think of the soul in terms of salvation but also in terms of health. Good taste won’t save one’s soul. But it will nourish the soul and incline the soul towards virtue much more than the bad taste we will acquire from mediocre things.”

Buckley at 100: Revisiting the Speeches of William F. Buckley Jr. 

Buckley at 100: Revisiting the Speeches of William F. Buckley Jr. 

“…I asked William F. Buckley Jr. which of his books was the favorite… Since I did not have a game plan other than to say ‘hello,’ speaking with him was an unexpected opportunity to pop the question. ‘It has to be the book of my speeches,’ he answered. ‘It covers fifty years of my life. No other of my books does that.’”

The Real Way to Build Back Better

The Real Way to Build Back Better

“If twenty-first-century America, as divided and rancorous as she has been in generations, is to find authentic peace and prosperity, her citizens must look inside their hearts rather than out at the government for a path to renewal. Self-reform is the only way to build society back better, and the Christian religion has long served as its greatest catalyst… Thomas Griffin offers us a model for reform: the way of Saint Francis of Assisi, who was so suffused with love for Jesus Christ that he was able to renew his world.”

The Original Struggle Between Globalism and America First

The Original Struggle Between Globalism and America First

“…what could be more timely than an account of the first national ‘America First’ campaign? And who should provide this accounting but historian H. W. Brands whose long string of solid books brands him as one of our most important and most prolific chroniclers?”

Proverbs, Virtues, and Callings

Proverbs, Virtues, and Callings

“This is at the heart of Melanchthon’s teaching on virtue in his commentary on Proverbs. We must ‘not undertake anything without our vocation constraining us,’ but within these vocations we must find the specific virtues that will adorn them and make our efforts useful.”

Cabrini: The Humble Saint Behind the Film

Cabrini: The Humble Saint Behind the Film

“Cabrini, the nun who would become a saint, dedicated her life to helping good people in practical ways… Her letters, carefully collected… showed the love that motivated her kindness.”

The Fessio Phenomenon

The Fessio Phenomenon

“I wish I could say that the recent history of Catholic higher education in America made sense, but, thanks to Father Buckley, it makes more sense to me than it used to.”

The Book Gallery

A collection of conversations with Bookman editor Luke C. Sheahan and writers and authors of imagination and erudition.

How to Love What is Permanent
Sarah Reardon on "Love What Lasts: How to Save Your Soul From Mediocrity" by Joshua Gibbs.
@CirceInstitute

Personalism in the Age of AI Grant R. Martsolf on "Personalism for the Twenty-First Century: Essays in Honor of David Walsh" Edited by Thomas W. Holman and Richard Avramenko.
@RLPublisher

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