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.”

History on Improper Principles

“The condescending attitude—even animus—behind this book is, in fact, among the reasons Trump came to power in the first place. Voters, clearly sick of being sneered at by elites like Lichtman and his colleagues in the established commentariat, have turned to populism as an outlet for their frustrations.”

Man’s Exposed Condition in a World of Severe Conflict

“When Czeslaw Milosz was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1980, he was introduced as a writer ‘who with uncompromising clearsightedness voices man’s exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts.’ As it is, he’s a poet of history whose warnings about despots carry a terrible weight… Here is a man who, from his exile, remembers his European homeland, his Poland, as a place of Gothic cathedrals, of Baroque churches and, yes, ‘synagogues filled with the wailing of a wronged people.’”

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.”

The Personal Foundation of Reality

The Personal Foundation of Reality

“…the source of reality itself must be personal in some way. As Rasmussen puts it: ‘A big thesis, then, that emerges from my inquiry is this: reality is deeply personal…”

A Cure For Boredom

A Cure For Boredom

“Kevin Hood Gary’s book… is an important contribution to the Aristotelian tradition, which emphasizes the importance of how human beings use their free time.”

Communism: Product of the Fallen West

Communism: Product of the Fallen West

“The reason the Western world should fear Communism, according to Sheen, is not because it is a strong force but rather because the West is weak due to the fact that it has turned away from God and morality.”

Choosing a Currency

Choosing a Currency

“…White succeeds in presenting the complexity of money and its purpose in a way that is both informative and friendly to the general reader.”

“To Help Man Endure by Lifting His Heart”: Earl Hamner at 100

“To Help Man Endure by Lifting His Heart”: Earl Hamner at 100

“Through his work, Earl Hamner not only became one of America’s favorite storytellers; he also became a conservator of the truth that though the modern world disdains the past and elevates immediacy, wealth, and power, the true measure of life’s meaning lies in love, grace, gentleness, forgiveness, and joy.”

The Book Gallery

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

Family Homes and Drive-in Churches
@JacobRAkey (@firstthingsmag) on "Crabgrass Catholicism: How Suburbanization Transformed Faith and Politics in Postwar America" by Stephen M. Koeth, CSC. @UofC Press

Reality Check for Politics --- @FilocomoFrank on "Political Breakdown: Why Politics Have Failed" by Lawrence M. Mead. Cambridge Scholars Publishing

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