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.
Why We Want Freedom
John G. Grove reviews Annelien de Dijn’s Freedom: An Unruly History
Encounter with a Real Borges
Jerrod A. Laber reviews Borges and Me: An Encounter by Jay Parini.
The Ancient-Modern Quarrel over Tragedy
Grant Havers reviews Tragedy, the Greeks, and Us by Simon Critchley.
Thebes Gets Its Due
Clayton Trutor welcomes Paul Cartledge’s new book on ancient Thebes.
Salvation Through Compassion?
Paul Krause reviews Roger Scruton’s treatment of Wagner’s Parsifal.
What Literature Makes Happen
Eric Hutchinson draws on the Reformer Philip Melanchthon to look at literature as a shortcut to wisdom for living well.
Mental Anchors for Information Overload
Kevin Holtsberry reviews Alan Jacobs’s Breaking Bread with the Dead.
Kierkegaard Is for Lovers
Asher Gelzer-Govatos welcomes Philosopher of the Heart, Clare Carlisle’s new introduction to Søren Kierkegaard.
Innovation Through Constraint
Matthew Stewart reviews Scott Newstok’s How to Think Like Shakespeare.
The Book Gallery
A collection of conversations with Bookman editor Luke C. Sheahan and writers and authors of imagination and erudition.
