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.”

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.”

Humane Literature and the Divided Soul

“…White’s debut book… unites a memoir in fragments with a syllabus of literary works on the question of how to harmonize our duties and desires.”

Antisemitism, a Foreign Tradition

“…Nadell substitutes an explanation of what antisemitism is and how to chart it with a tacit theory that antisemitism always exists and always makes life miserable. For those reasons, [it] is a book best left unread.”

Why America Needs to Rediscover American Exceptionalism

by John Hendrickson | Mar 24, 2024

“…Edwardsson traces the historical development of American exceptionalism and how it has changed throughout our history. Further, Edwardsson argues that the traditional view of American exceptionalism… has been undermined as a result of political ideology from both the political left and right.”

Portrait of an Artist

by Sean McGlynn | Mar 17, 2024

“The work of the Welsh artist Gwen John (1876-1939) has recently re-emerged from relative obscurity. This is due to two fine exhibitions in England in 2023… and a new book of her life by Alicia Foster, curator of those exhibitions… Collectively, they offer a welcome appreciation of the delicate and often brilliant paintings of an artist and complex personality who underwent both professional and spiritual trials in her fascinating life…”

Against the New Deal

by Chuck Chalberg | Mar 17, 2024

“…editor Shlaes, biographer of Calvin Coolidge and historian of both the Great Depression and the New Deal, refuses to pull any punches. Yes, the New Deal ‘failed,’ but then ‘so did its critics.’”

Correcting the Historical Record on Slavery

by David Weinberger | Mar 17, 2024

“Slavery, in fact, was everywhere for the vast majority of human history, and it still survives in places today. While Western civilization deserves credit for helping end it, the Catholic Church stands alone in both its early recognition and its consistent conviction that slavery is evil.”

History of the American Revolution Well Told

by Kevin R. C. Gutzman | Mar 10, 2024

“This new edition of a book on one of the most important subjects in American diplomatic history by one of the leading practitioners in the field should remind readers how important—and downright fascinating—such works can be.”

Virtue in the Age of Neo-Machiavellianism

by Jesse Russell | Mar 10, 2024

“For Hankins the notion of a new nobility based upon merit—not class or blood, on one hand, nor ‘equity,’ on the other—is one of Patrizi’s most important messages for America today. Hankins, throughout the book, presents the optimistic case that such a vision of a virtuous, meritocratic Republic is the way forward for America.”