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.

The Urbanity of Russell Kirk

“The urban fabric must also be mended and darned through continuous upkeep. The city is not yours to experiment. From Russell to Russello, our ancestral spirits cast their shadows whether or not we choose to observe the city of god in the cities of men.”

Marxism and the Rising Generation

“Gonzalez and Gorka have performed an important service in bringing together a wide range of fact and theory and in establishing a coherent line stretching directly from Marx through many important figures to the present day.”

Cracking the Code to Civilization

“In a world flooded with online influencers, ‘red pill’ rhetoric, and algorithmic posturing, Newell offers something older, wiser, and far superior: a code of manliness rooted in the Western tradition of virtue, character, and service. His message is that true manliness is not a pose or performance; it is the integration of moral and intellectual excellence, what he calls ‘the manly heart.’”

France and the Problem of Abstraction

“…French people’s love for ideas, indeed for ideology, often puts them at odds with the pragmatic requisites of a mature democracy and with reality itself. France is, as she very aptly puts it, ‘a country of dreamers who fall into melancholy when reality catches up with them.’ But far from being merely a psychological explanation for French unhappiness, this idealism is the key to a political understanding of our complicated relationship with the very principle of democracy.”

Glimpses of a Great Light

Ronald Knox: A Man for All Seasons edited by Francesca Bugliani Knox. PIMS, 2016. Hardcover, 416 pages, $65.Jesus said only a fool would light a candle and proceed to hide it under a bowl. Yet time, even more than neglect or abuse, has a way of snuffing out even the...

A Splendid Retelling

Never Surrender: Winston Churchill and Britain’s Decision to Fight Nazi Germany in the Fateful Summer of 1940 by John Kelly. Scribner, 2015. Hardcover, 384 pages, $30.Winston Churchill believed that fate had placed him at the head of Britain’s government at its hour...

Reclaiming the ‘Higher’ in Higher Education

American Heresies and Higher Education by Peter Augustine Lawler. St. Augustine’s Press, 2016. Paperback, 224 pages, $20.Any appreciator of permanent and higher things who has gone to the university has very likely encountered the ugliness of political correctness,...

On Not Conserving Liberalism

Conserving America?: Essays on Present Discontents by Patrick J. Deneen. St. Augustines Press, 2016. Paper, 192 pages, $19.The title of the book—Conserving America?—tells us much of what we need to know about Deneen’s thesis. For much of conservative intellectual...

Books in Little: Lewis as Political Thinker

C. S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law by Justin Buckley Dyer and Micah J. Watson. Cambridge University Press, 2016. Hardcover, 170 pages, $45.C. S. Lewis, although a conservative, can surprise the reader, especially the evangelical one, with some of his...

Roy Campbell: A Poet for Our Time?

Matthew Robare looks at the work of poet Roy Campbell on the fiftieth anniversary of his death, exploring why he has been blacklisted by the literary establishment and his fight against the elitist snowflakes of his own time.

When Science Opens to Faith

Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating the Sciences by Stacy A. Trasancos. Ave Maria Press, 2016. Paper, 192 pages, $15.95.Ever since the Scientific Revolution, religious faith has withstood a steady assault of scientific discoveries that seem to undermine...

From Marxist to Black Conservative

Black and Conservative: The Autobiography of George S. Schuyler by George S. Schuyler. Arlington House, 1966. Hardcover, 362 pages, $5.95. George S. Schuyler (1895–1977) is one of the most consequential black conservative columnists in American history. His...

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.

"Delsol’s analysis stands out for the breadth of its perspective. Her essay covers topics as varied as corporatism, the French love for status and strikes, immigration, religion and secularism, populism and the role of intellectuals, Jacobinism, and the EU..."

Cracking the Code to Civilization
@CliffordBates12 on "The Code of Man: Love, Courage, Pride, Family, Country" (2nd Edition) by @waller_newell

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