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.”

Enchanting Criticism: Dana Gioia as Literary Critic 

“Gioia’s latest book is a testament to the persistence of authentic criticism in an age suspicious of and even hostile to literary values.”

The Machine or the Garden?

“What Kingsnorth brilliantly exposes in Against the Machine is how the progressive vision of scientific, industrial, and technological progress is actually destroying the wisdom of the past in its merciless pursuit of perfection. Kingsnorth reminds us of the great taboo of modernity: ‘There is no such thing as a perfect society, and anyone who tries to build one will either go mad or become a tyrant.’”

What Plato Meant

“…Princeton University philosopher and political theorist Melissa Lane explores Plato’s notion of rule and governorship, attempting to refresh the humanistic, liberal reading of Plato’s political theory.”

Remaking Cold War Diplomacy

Remaking Cold War Diplomacy

“[Eames’s] latest book… takes a transnational approach to the nuclear 1980s by examining the strategic coordination of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher during the waning days of the Cold War.”

The Achievement of the Irish Poets

The Achievement of the Irish Poets

“…for Devlin, as for MacGreevy and Coffey, the purpose of art, including that of literary expression, was to call forth wonder, beauty, goodness, and truth, which required drawing from the rich stores of both philosophy and faith.”

The Last European

The Last European

“[The book] is a fascinating portrait of the collapse of the glorious cultural world of the first half of the 20th century, one that has much relevance to what is happening to the culture of the West today.”

A “Sputnik Moment” for Civics

A “Sputnik Moment” for Civics

“The key to effective civics is for teachers to engage students in ‘conversations based on primary sources.’ Immersion in such conversations, the authors contend, ‘makes us feel part of the story, making it ours too.'”

The Dublin Fog: In the Footsteps of the Irish Saints

The Dublin Fog: In the Footsteps of the Irish Saints

“Connie Marshner and Mike Aquilina have both published books this year that give us a window into this long-lost world of ancient Irish Christianity. Each is a discernment project, straining to see through a glass, darkly, how this middle eastern religion came to Ireland, whence it spread even farther abroad.”

Love That Tells the Truth

Love That Tells the Truth

“…the book is studded with several truths that together give a thorough—and loving—response to the lies of modern secular culture.”

Humanely Conservative

Humanely Conservative

“For [the authors], the decline or renewal of the West depends upon whether a conservative humanism can be recovered, whether the wisdom of our ancestors will be rejuvenated and whether we are willing to look back into the past in order to move forward in the future.”

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.

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