The University Bookman
Reviewing Books that Build Culture
Kennan: The Fallible Prophet We Need
“…Congdon views Kennan as a ‘guide’ whose wisdom and prudence can bring America back from the edge of international and domestic abyss.”
Cities, as Social Science Sees Them
“Whatever hope… American cities might have depends on time-tested, filtered wisdom, not on a haughty, overpaid consultants’ findings or ivory tower social scientists’ musings.”
Upcoming Event: The Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture
On November 15, The University Bookman and friends will hold a memorial lecture in honor of Gerald Russello, longtime editor of The University Bookman. Dr. Dermot Quinn, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at Seton Hall University, will speak on Gerald Russello and the Art of Memory.
The Lost Art of Memento Mori
“To acknowledge and respect the end to which we are destined, to meditate and learn to bear the thought of it—this is one of the ancient disciplines which we have, beyond all argument, let fall into oblivion, and which we must, past all denial, dedicate ourselves to recovering.”
Fundamentally Religious and Catholic
“…a comprehensive portrait of Tolkien’s religious life and thought has been lacking. Holly Ordway supplies that needed ‘spiritual biography’ decisively. Through exhaustive research and insightful analysis, she recounts Tolkien’s lifelong, tested, textured engagement with Roman Catholicism, and thereby establishes how fundamental it was to his identity as a person and a writer.”
A Contemporary Literary Work of the Moral Imagination
“Readers of this volume will find all ten stories insightful and carefully crafted, and they are worthy of the authors who inspired Schock’s abiding love of speculative fiction.”
Must the University Be Political?
“Should academic departments and scholarly societies issue position statements on current political matters? The practice is increasingly common today, but it still sparks debate…
This current debate has roots in the late 1960s, as Ellen Schrecker shows in her sprawling book…”
What Do Fungi Have to Do with Athens?
“[Sheldrake] hasn’t produced a polemic against the ideal of the self-sufficient liberal political subject, or even a policy brief in favor of honoring our interdependence with the natural world. Instead he just invites readers to consider whether, perhaps, they are lichen.”
Perspicuity at the Bar of History
“In what is undoubtedly the most comprehensive treatment of the topic to date, Chalk’s book meticulously breaks down the history and philosophy behind perspicuity, arguing that the doctrine has ultimately failed to achieve both spiritual truth and Christian unity.”
The Book Gallery
A collection of conversations with Bookman editor Luke C. Sheahan and writers and authors of imagination and erudition.
There are metaphorical hills on which I would be willing to die. The Oxford comma is one of them.
So easy to forget that the best way to educate yourself is to read great works of literature and philosophy, then talk about them. Bring back the salon!
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