The University Bookman
Reviewing Books that Build Culture
A Very American Historian
“,,,the South had something to teach other Americans, especially those Americans of the twentieth century who had an ‘oversized faith in American progress, American prosperity, and American invincibility.’ At least that was the idea of this ‘idea man’ as he dwelt on both the ‘irony’ and the ‘burden’ of southern history.”
Arguing the Unarguable Thing
“If one considers oneself to be pro-life, but is going by a ‘gut feel’ more than by facts, this book might be of considerable value.”
Why We Need Beauty
“This is an erudite and beautifully written book about a neglected thinker who deserves more attention in this age of ugliness and vulgarity.”
What Makes a Classic?
“Just what constitutes a classical work? Style, setting, language, acclaim…what are the criteria?”
Where Is Home?
“…’Who will keep our stories alive, no matter where we go?’ Perhaps that is a question even more poignant than ‘Where is home?’ especially for those who are either dispossessed of a homeland or simply feel rootless in a thousand small ways as they struggle to navigate this dizzyingly complex world.”
Russell Kirk vs. Fusionism: A Conflict in Name Only?
“Kirk called ideology the ‘negation of prudence’ and the ‘foe of imagination.’ Both prudence and imagination are key ideas in Kirk’s political thought. For him, prudence is the preeminent political virtue, and all good politics is inspired by the moral imagination.”
Restoring the True and the Beautiful
“…Klavan offers just the right prescription to postmoderns emerging from scientific materialism—and eager to be told what their stories mean.”
Nihilism as Public Policy
“The difference between nihilism as a private response to life’s contingencies and its sinister manifestation as public policy, Houellebecq aptly points out, is that the latter demands that nihilism become institutionalized.”
Paul Johnson (1937-2023): A Valediction
M. D. Aeschliman remembers the British historian Paul Johnson.
The Book Gallery
A collection of conversations with Bookman editor Luke C. Sheahan and writers and authors of imagination and erudition.