The University Bookman

Reviewing Books that Build Culture

John Adams: Russell Kirk’s Founding Federalist

“…[Kirk] located the mainstream of the American Founding not with the Jeffersonian Republicans, but with their rivals in the Federalist party. Kirk admired them not only as practical statesmen, but also as anti-revolutionary thinkers in their own right. As he put it, the Constitution they supported was both ‘the most successful conservative device in the history of the world’ and a ‘great monument’ to the Federalists.”

What the American Revolution Secured: Order, Justice, and Freedom

Throughout the semiquincentennial year celebrating America’s independence, The University Bookman will invite a range of writers and speakers to contribute to a series drawing upon Russell Kirk’s work on the American Revolution and the constitutional order it secured.

“To Think Faith” as Educators

“…faith and pedagogy should be in harmony. Smith’s guide is not a theory of faith and teaching or how to sprinkle faith within teaching. ‘It offers repeated practice at noticing and thinking through ways in which faith and the process of teaching might connect in everyday practice,’ in the mundane moments of elementary, secondary, or higher education classrooms.”

Every Educational Bureaucracy is Unhappy in Its Own Way

“In the end, Nikias’s story illustrates a recurring truth about bureaucracies: reformers often find themselves defeated not by external enemies but by the accumulated habits, incentives, and procedures of the organizations they serve.”

The Problems of American Higher Education

“In the spirit of Kirk, the conservative reformer must remember the imperfectability of human nature, a moral truth that the modern academy has forgotten.”

The U.S. Constitution and Slavery 

The U.S. Constitution and Slavery 

“…these works by Gilhooley and Watkins might be better framed not simply as critiques of the Philadelphia Constitution or of the original intent of its framers, but as critiques of the American experiment with popular constitutionalism itself.”

Draining the Swamp

Draining the Swamp

“What can be easily detected in these pages is Bernhardt’s skepticism, doubts, and concerns about the role of experts and expertise within the administrative state.”

After Liberalism…Faith?

After Liberalism…Faith?

“[Gray’s] newest book highlights the nature of the work right in the sub-title: ‘Thoughts after Liberalism.’ This is not an argument that liberalism has failed… or a program for what should come after liberalism… or a philosophical critique of liberalism… Instead, it is as though the reader has been invited to eavesdrop on Gray’s inner dialogues as he mulls over a post-liberal world.”

A Wild Ride Characterized by Potholes

A Wild Ride Characterized by Potholes

“Jesus in the Minnows places a firm coda on the Catholic beat phenomenon: firmly ensconcing what was good within it, while also reflectively revealing the unattractiveness of the hedonism from which the Lord led its members.”

For They Shall Be Comforted

For They Shall Be Comforted

“…St. Jerome[‘s]… heartfelt prose provides warm words of consolation and confident hope to friends mourning the loss of loved ones. Now, for the first time… seven of [his] celebrated letters have been translated into English…”

We Few, We Happy Few

We Few, We Happy Few

“For a humanistic revival to have a chance in the present, those attracted to the ideas of Babbitt and More need to forge friendships, foster communities, and coordinate efforts to bring these ideas to bear on the culture.”

Of Man and Lost Time

Of Man and Lost Time

“Herzog’s tale explores the surreal quality of a modern-day Robinson Crusoe-like story of a man who has lived in what appears to be a dream world.”

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.

Kirk saw poetry, fiction, tradition, and restraint as essential to understanding America and preserving its character. In his review of "On America," @cjscalia explores Kirk’s vision of the founding, statesmanship, literature, and the enduring ideas that have shaped the republic.

The Audacious Russell Kirk
Bruce P. Frohnen reviews "On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776" by Russell Kirk. Edited by Michael Lucchese.

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