The University Bookman

Reviewing Books that Build Culture

Kirk 101: The Politics of Prudence

“The vision of Politics of Prudence is as an inoculation against the ‘sham religion and sham philosophy’ of ideology. It is not a better ideology that we need, but rather none at all.”

The Prophet of Imprudence

“As the conservative mind is again on the defensive in America… The Politics of Prudence suggests that no less than the imprudence of conservatives is much to blame for the latest rout. Thirty years ago, few conservatives wanted to hear such a message. Today it calls out as a testament to what went wrong and a corrective for what’s to come.”

The Politics of Prudence: Introduction to the 2023 Edition

“The politics of prudence assumes that imperfection is a permanent part of human character and human society. We grope toward a tolerable order that accepts imperfection, the devil we know, while avoiding greater evils, the devil we do not know. Preservation of civilization, as imperfect as it is, is the conservative’s work.”

The Lost Art of Memento Mori

The Lost Art of Memento Mori

“To acknowledge and respect the end to which we are destined, to meditate and learn to bear the thought of it—this is one of the ancient disciplines which we have, beyond all argument, let fall into oblivion, and which we must, past all denial, dedicate ourselves to recovering.”

Fundamentally Religious and Catholic

Fundamentally Religious and Catholic

“…a comprehensive portrait of Tolkien’s religious life and thought has been lacking. Holly Ordway supplies that needed ‘spiritual biography’ decisively. Through exhaustive research and insightful analysis, she recounts Tolkien’s lifelong, tested, textured engagement with Roman Catholicism, and thereby establishes how fundamental it was to his identity as a person and a writer.”

Must the University Be Political?

Must the University Be Political?

“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?

What Do Fungi Have to Do with Athens?

“[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

Perspicuity at the Bar of History

“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.”

Two Cities: The Public and the Private

Two Cities: The Public and the Private

“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.”

The Book Gallery

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

Russell Amos Kirk, the namesake of the Kirk Center, was born 105 years ago today. Join us in celebrating Kirk's birthday by sharing your favorite Kirk quote(s) throughout the month of #Kirktober. We'd love to see what continues to inspire you and shape your thinking.

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