The University Bookman

Reviewing Books that Build Culture

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 Find Eyes to See

“Hren selects earnest classics that have stood the test of time—books that generations of readers have found edifying and moving. But also, in the introduction and conclusion alike, Hren returns to another key point of fiction: it doesn’t just help us see extraordinary truth, although it can. More important is that fiction gives us eyes to see the transcendence of ordinary lives, including our own.”

Rural America as It Really Is

“Harold Bell Wright, regardless of how literary tastemakers viewed him in the 1920s, is the central figure in the origin of Branson. Though denigrated by the Baldwins and H. L. Menckens of his day, Wright was one of the century’s best-selling novelists.”

The Poet Watches Birds

“Jennifer A. Hartenburg’s debut collection of poems… offers such a poetic practice of waking, attending, and caring. These are poems rich with the life of the world, flocking with birds and bees both literal and metaphorical, but also closely attentive to the quiddities of language and the motions of the soul.”

Mysteries Require Odes, Not Emails

Mysteries Require Odes, Not Emails

“In this volume Christian verse encompasses religious themes addressed ‘explicitly or implicitly’ by poets, whether practicing or lapsed, ‘whose imagination is shaped by the tenets, symbols, and traditions of the faith.’

Every Mann

Every Mann

“…Mann blends those aforementioned Big Questions with little daily ones of eternal significance…”

Saving the West By Keeping It Real

Saving the West By Keeping It Real

“…Klavan applies his extensive knowledge of classical literature and the Western canon to properly frame today’s challenges and help people take appropriate action.”

Reagan as Peacemaking Cold Warrior

Reagan as Peacemaking Cold Warrior

“Inboden’s work does a lot to explain this dichotomy as part of Reagan’s larger vision: to exploit the weaknesses in the Soviet system while building up American strength with the goal of causing a collapse in the Soviet system.”

Oh Yeah Baby Eat It

Oh Yeah Baby Eat It

“Bottum’s voice is confident and idiosyncratic, playful and wise, plainspoken and deliberate, concerned with dramas large and dramas small.”

The Wisdom of Medieval Scholasticism

The Wisdom of Medieval Scholasticism

“The book not only makes a worthy contribution to anyone interested in understanding Medieval philosophy and the thought of Duns Scotus, but to everybody seeking to deepen their appreciation of human existence and its place in ultimate reality.”

Political Theology for Realists

Political Theology for Realists

“…even those who might diverge theologically will find this work to be an extremely useful short primer on the history of Christian political thought.”

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

Subscribe and receive the Bookman weekly in your inbox.

* indicates required

Shop through Creed & Culture
Support the Kirk Center
& University Bookman