The University Bookman
Reviewing Books that Build Culture
Watch James Panero of the New Criterion discuss “The Urbanity of Russell Kirk” at the 2025 Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture.
Education in the Light of Glory
“For those who already know and love Kern as a speaker and writer, this book will be a rich delight. Its insights reward the reader on every page. Those not familiar with Kern, however, may be taken aback by the extent of his reveling in layered analogies, intricate structures, and ultimate mysteries.”
Connecting with Aquinas, Connecting with Ourselves
“Attempting to summarize the thoughts of one of the Church’s most prodigious figures, let alone connect them to contemporary culture, is no small task and Keenan knows it. His book does not pretend to be more than it is: a new lens to read Aquinas through.”
Et in Arcadia Ego
“Poetry, particularly poetry of this kind, has been proclaimed dead too many times to count. Still, elect souls will hear the music of the pan-pipes on the wind.”
Making It Home
“The perils and wonders of the journey home pervade Bilbro’s entire collection, through a variety of verse forms and subjects, many of which are seemingly mundane, as in ‘Listening to the Iliad while Raking Leaves…'”
Aging White Male Future Shock: The Contemporary Relevance of a Sociological Classic
“’Future Shock?’ I use that phrase to characterize what I have observed as the predicament—or (as they might view it) the ‘plight’—of aging white males who are buffeted by a host of new developments, ranging from the #MeToo and Black Lives Matters movements to revolutionary technologies of the digital world, that have confused or even paralyzed them.”
The Intrinsic Argument for Free Speech
“Core to Turley’s argument is that free speech is justified in the natural law—by which he means modern natural law. Free speech must attach to any coherent understanding of individual rights. In this, Turley is solidly in the liberal tradition. But his argument goes further, drawing from a more nuanced understanding of the person than we often regrettably find in liberal philosophy.”
Sister Mariella Gable: Pioneer and Prophet
“Nelson’s point, then, is that Catholic writers are issued no exemptions for their piety… but must instead be held to the highest standards of quality, craftsmanship, and excellence.”
The Visionary Stigmatists and the Hope of Mercy
“…Kengor proceeds in his history of key stigmatists through Christian history, looking at the medieval stigmatists of renown including Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Catherine of Sienna, to more modern stigmatists of the past century including Saint Padre Pio and Saint Faustina.”
Challenging the Contraceptive Mind
“…philosophy underlies her work and makes itself evident throughout. Though she applies economic terms to her findings about childbearing—with language of costs and benefits—and draws conclusions about economics and policy, Pakaluk is fundamentally making, alongside her subjects, a philosophical argument about the value of human life. Together with the women of her sample, Pakaluk maintains that children are blessings worth living and dying for, and that having one more child is always a blessing.”
The Book Gallery
A collection of conversations with Bookman editor Luke C. Sheahan and writers and authors of imagination and erudition. Click on the icon in the upper right corner of the video to see more episodes in this series or check out our YouTube page.
Barry Cooper's review of THE GROWTH OF THE LIBERAL SOUL is available on the @ubookman page at: https://kirkcenter.org/reviews/after-ideology-but-before-the-revolution-the-liberal-soul/
I'm pleased to see the University Bookman running a small symposium on a new book (or a new edition of an old book) by David Walsh, whose work remains essential amidst debates over liberalism. Personally, Walsh's influence has kept me from going full post-liberal.
Shop through Regnery
Support the Kirk Center
& University Bookman
