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.”

Marxism and the Rising Generation

“Gonzalez and Gorka have performed an important service in bringing together a wide range of fact and theory and in establishing a coherent line stretching directly from Marx through many important figures to the present day.”

Cracking the Code to Civilization

“In a world flooded with online influencers, ‘red pill’ rhetoric, and algorithmic posturing, Newell offers something older, wiser, and far superior: a code of manliness rooted in the Western tradition of virtue, character, and service. His message is that true manliness is not a pose or performance; it is the integration of moral and intellectual excellence, what he calls ‘the manly heart.’”

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.”

Swimming in the Secular Fishbowl 

Swimming in the Secular Fishbowl 

“Davignon’s persuasive analysis makes a valuable contribution to the study of secularization and religion by moving the conversation away from ethereal ideas and into the daily reality of people’s lives. Secularity is not the musings of professors in an ivory tower… It is more like the water in a fishbowl…”

Why America Needs to Rediscover American Exceptionalism

Why America Needs to Rediscover American Exceptionalism

“…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

Portrait of an Artist

“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

Against the New Deal

“…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

Correcting the Historical Record on Slavery

“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

History of the American Revolution Well Told

“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

Virtue in the Age of Neo-Machiavellianism

“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.”

Crafting a New Evangelical Imagination

Crafting a New Evangelical Imagination

“The result of a Christian subculture so deeply infused with Victorian era sentimentalism is that evangelicalism became less an intellectual theological system and more ‘a religion of the heart.'”

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.

"Delsol’s analysis stands out for the breadth of its perspective. Her essay covers topics as varied as corporatism, the French love for status and strikes, immigration, religion and secularism, populism and the role of intellectuals, Jacobinism, and the EU..."

Cracking the Code to Civilization
@CliffordBates12 on "The Code of Man: Love, Courage, Pride, Family, Country" (2nd Edition) by @waller_newell

Load More

Shop through Regnery
Support the Kirk Center
& University Bookman