The University Bookman

Reviewing Books that Build Culture

Join friends of the Bookman in New York City on December 8, 2025 for the Gerald Russello Memorial Lecture.

William F. Buckley Jr.: Literary Figure 

“…the American public intellectual might best be appreciated as a literary figure. Producing about 350,000 words for publication yearly at the peak of his career, Buckley was never at a loss for what to say or how to say it.”

Defending the Christian Faith

“In 100 Tough Questions For Catholics: Common Obstacles To Faith Today… David G. Bonagura, Jr. gives bite-sized answers to dozens of big questions about the faith.”

Revisiting Walter Lippmann

“Lippmann sought to be—and was—what might be described today as an influencer. As such, he never sought to wield power, but he long desired to have the ears and eyes of the powerful. Arnold-Forster is certainly not unaware of that. But it is never his central message. If there is such a message in these pages, and there is, it is his effort to make the reader aware that Walter Lippmann, believer in and defender of the efficacy of progressive government, was also Walter Lippmann, believer in and defender of both the reality and importance of empire in general and of the American empire in particular.”

Family Homes and Drive-in Churches

“After the optimism of the suburban boom, it all went bust. Mass attendance fell by 70 percent. Women’s religious life died out. Parochial education was crippled… The green grass of suburbia was starved into a desiccated, brown waste.”

William F. Buckley Jr.: Literary Figure 

“…the American public intellectual might best be appreciated as a literary figure. Producing about 350,000 words for publication yearly at the peak of his career, Buckley was never at a loss for what to say or how to say it.”

JP O’Malley Interviews Author Ian Buruma

JP O’Malley Interviews Author Ian Buruma

Ian Buruma published The Collaborators: Three Stories of Deception and Survival in World War II early last year. The University Bookman contributor JP O’Malley caught up with Mr. Buruma to discuss his latest book.

Imprisoned by the Internet

Imprisoned by the Internet

“…James’s volume is an accessible invitation to consider the possibility that the internet as such—wholly apart from any particular content—is forming people in essentially malign ways.”

The U.S. Constitution and Slavery 

The U.S. Constitution and Slavery 

“…these works by Gilhooley and Watkins might be better framed not simply as critiques of the Philadelphia Constitution or of the original intent of its framers, but as critiques of the American experiment with popular constitutionalism itself.”

Draining the Swamp

Draining the Swamp

“What can be easily detected in these pages is Bernhardt’s skepticism, doubts, and concerns about the role of experts and expertise within the administrative state.”

After Liberalism…Faith?

After Liberalism…Faith?

“[Gray’s] newest book highlights the nature of the work right in the sub-title: ‘Thoughts after Liberalism.’ This is not an argument that liberalism has failed… or a program for what should come after liberalism… or a philosophical critique of liberalism… Instead, it is as though the reader has been invited to eavesdrop on Gray’s inner dialogues as he mulls over a post-liberal world.”

The Book Gallery

A collection of conversations with Bookman editor Luke C. Sheahan and writers and authors of imagination and erudition.

How to Love What is Permanent
Sarah Reardon on "Love What Lasts: How to Save Your Soul From Mediocrity" by Joshua Gibbs.
@CirceInstitute

Personalism in the Age of AI Grant R. Martsolf on "Personalism for the Twenty-First Century: Essays in Honor of David Walsh" Edited by Thomas W. Holman and Richard Avramenko.
@RLPublisher

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