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.”

The Great Historian of Culture

A Historian and His World: A Life of Christopher Dawson by Christina Scott. With a new introduction by Russell Kirk, and a postscript by Christopher Dawson: “Memories of a Victorian Childhood.” Transaction Books, New Brunswick, New Jersey, [1984] 1991.Christopher...

The Quality of Our Imaginations

A conversation with Gary L. Gregg.The University Bookman is pleased to present this interview with Gary L. Gregg, II, who holds the Mitch McConnell Chair in Leadership at the University of Louisville, where he directs the McConnell Center. He is the author or editor...

Rescuing the Past

The Iona Conspiracy by G. L. Gregg. Winged Lion Press, 2010, 432 pp., $18. The Iona Conspiracy, the sequel to Dr. Gary Gregg’s novel The Sporran, is a gripping tale which follows the adventures of thirteen-year-old Jacob Boyd. In the previous book, Jacob came to...

The Faith of Men of Letters

In this review from 1987, the late Dr. Panichas reviews Russell Kirk’s book on Eliot—he calls it Kirk’s greatest work—and discusses the cultural role of “the man of letters.”

Champion of Faith and Common Sense

Defiant Joy: The Remarkable Life & Impact of G. K. Chesterton by Kevin Belmonte. Thomas Nelson, 2011, $16.99, 318 pages Many years ago, this reviewer attended a weekend stay at the home of a prominent historian and Roman Catholic gentleman, to assess his personal...

Lincoln and the Dignity of the Presidency

The Roman Republic was at the back of the minds of the framers of the American Constitution; it was their hope that the chief magistrate of these United States would conduct himself with “the high old Roman virtue,” becoming an exemplar of pietas, gravitas,...

A Guide to Voegelin’s Thought

Eric Voegelin’s Search for Order in History edited by Stephen A. McKnight. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1978. 209 pp. [Expanded edition, 1987, 252 pp.] In the spring of 1953, Time magazine published a long review-essay entitled “Journalism and...

Conserving Liberty Online Lectures

The New Centurion Leadership Program has begun a monthly live broadcast on UStream with eight lectures on “Conserving Liberty” and focusing on Russell Kirk and F. A. Hayek. In January, Senior Fellow Gleaves Whitney introduced Kirk’s life and work, focusing on The...

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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