The University Bookman
Reviewing Books that Build Culture
Reconsidering Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Roosevelt’s true genius was the practice of politics. But his success at that practice did not come without costs of its own. Roosevelt may well have believed that his political success and his country’s economic recovery would proceed along parallel paths. But the evidence suggests otherwise. In fact, reading Beito leads one to surmise that the Rooseveltian preoccupation with the politics of leadership may well have significantly delayed and even retarded the very recovery that was supposed to result from his leadership.”
A Forgotten Russian Immigrant Poet in Hollywood
“Nostalgia unquestionably captivates all émigrés. There you may be, decades gone from the old country, and glad of it. Yet still you long for the taste of familiar foods, the sight of those Russian birch trees, and the sound of the language you never have the opportunity to speak outside the home.”
The Scientific Evidence for God
“From the study of the universe to the study of the human cell and the irrational claims of materialism, this book can fortify one’s belief in God and show how that belief is, by far, the most rational one.”
Help Me Read the Word
“Womack introduces important concepts and provides helpful tools to her fellow Bible Nerds to discover the richness of the Word. She also effectively details the different genres of Scripture. These concepts, tools, and details are woven together with personal anecdotes that make the text easily relatable. The author’s love of Scripture shines through, and it can only help anyone honestly pursuing the truth of God’s Word.”
The Long Decline of Liberalism
“Pilkington describes the many societal ills that this destruction of hierarchies entailed… While Pilkington’s diagnosis of liberalism as the source of these diseases seems sound, his confidence that global liberalism is collapsing rapidly and that the immediate future will be ‘post-liberal’ leaves me uneasy. Even if we grant that liberalism is an inherently unstable way of organizing a polity, does that really allow us to predict just how rapidly that instability will lead to a downfall?”
The British Empire on Trial
“[Biggar’s] book amounts to a defense of the British Empire. He succeeds at giving the reader ample reasons not to hate his home country, but also misses an opportunity to use his unique training to pioneer a more innovative form of history.”
A Heroic Little Sparrow Shines Brightly in the Dark World of Children’s Literature
“The story is as delightful and charming as it sounds, recounting the odyssey of a virtuous sparrow named Passer who must move his family to a new home after ‘big yellow machines’ appear at his home.”
Ulyssean Interrogations at Dusk, or Slowing Down at 65
“Odysseus himself was offered immortality by the nymph Calypso—and refused it. He chose instead to return to his wife Penelope, a mortal woman who would age. He chose to return to a finite life marked by loss, memory, and longing; and in that choice, I have always thought, lies his greatest courage—and his deepest wisdom… I hope and I believe that I would have made the same Ulyssean decision.”
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.
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.
Register for our next book gallery on June 22, 2026:
Russell Kirk On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776
Our critic’s pick: “On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776,” by Russell Kirk (Creed & Culture). @C_and_C_Books @JamesPanero
https://newcriterion.com/dispatch/the-critics-notebook-112/#1
@newcriterion @C_and_C_Books @JamesPanero You may sign up for the @ubookman discussion of Russell Kirk’s On America here:
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