The University Bookman

Reviewing Books that Build Culture

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.”

Political Economy Before Adam Smith

“…[the book] is a compilation of various tracts on the intersection of commerce and statecraft—many of which are snapshots of McCulloch’s own free-market beliefs—that serve as a compelling precursor of Smithian political economy.”

Science and Meaning: Parallel Tracks?

“Science is not the sort of activity that can answer the question, ‘Does life have meaning?’ To expect science to answer that question is like expecting your plumber to tell you whether installing fancier bathroom fixtures will make you happier.

Geopolitics and the Making of the Modern World

“Brands’s book should find a ready audience among those interested in developments in the international scene over the last century. It is particularly effective in dealing with the threat that China’s emerging power and influence pose to the West today…”

Must the University Be Political?

by Ethan Schrum | Oct 22, 2023

“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?

by Eve Tushnet | Oct 22, 2023

“[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

by Tyler Curtis | Oct 22, 2023

“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 Classically Educated Mind of W. E. B Du Bois

by Chris Butynskyi | Oct 15, 2023

“A study of [Du Bois’s] classicism and cosmopolitanism is necessary and cannot be laden with popular agendas, especially since Du Bois himself sought reconciliation between seemingly opposing worlds.”

Cormac McCarthy’s Historical Literary Influences

by Philip D. Bunn | Oct 15, 2023

“…this book is an essential companion for anyone interested in a deeper scholarly and thematic treatment of McCarthy and his works.”

Two Cities: The Public and the Private

by Igor Damous | Oct 15, 2023

“The era of superlatives, the French Revolution, was the time when real people, tired of their private sufferings, abandoned their real names to become citoyens… Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité, and other pompous terms, took the place of the real, little, and unwordable affections, turning friends into foes, in the name of an unreal solidarity.”

Remembering Our Unruly Character

by Ryan R. Holston | Oct 8, 2023

“…Frohnen and McAllister are explicit… that Americans must ‘rediscover’ their unruly character, and it becomes clear that their efforts to mine the historical roots of this defiant, ornery nature are grounded in a concern to push back and save the American way of life…”

Why Public Reason Fails

by Gene Callahan | Oct 8, 2023

“It is only at a local level that true political deliberation among citizens can take place. Holston’s central message is that, if deliberative democrats are serious about their enterprise, they ought to be working to devolve decision making to the local level as far as possible.”