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.”

Localism is Americanism

Localism is Americanism

“In this fine collection of essays there is not so much as a single hint that any sort of top down solution is the answer, much less a top down solution that requires either a big government or a political figure with something between near-dictatorial and dictatorial power. For localists, it’s bottom up all the way.”

A Theological Virtue in the Earthly City

A Theological Virtue in the Earthly City

“Through the lens of hope, Lamb shows how Augustine allows individuals to belong to the City of God and the Earthly City simultaneously, since all worldly concerns and endeavors are shaped by the love of God and contribute to man’s proper end of union with Him.”

Should We Be Good Bankers?

Should We Be Good Bankers?

“Pakaluk argues that the Gospel of Matthew can be understood as two major parts: the crediting and the debiting of salvation by Jesus Christ.”

Out of Many, One

Out of Many, One

“If we could summarize Fredriksen’s Ancient Christianities under one rubric it would be ‘context reveals content.’”

Editors’ Summer Reading

Editors’ Summer Reading

Spring is drawing to a close. Summer is upon us. That means it’s time for summer reading.  Luke C. Sheahan, Editor nce final grades are submitted, and I’ve rested, I begin my trek through a summer booklist. At the top is always Cormac McCarthy’s...

Reagan vs. the Air Traffic Controllers

Reagan vs. the Air Traffic Controllers

“The book traces President Reagan’s decision to fire the striking Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) workers… Busch argues throughout that the PATCO strike deserves much more attention than it has previously attracted.”

Reappraising Woodrow Wilson

Reappraising Woodrow Wilson

“…it is hardly a biography at all. If anything, it is a history of the painfully gradual process of finally securing the right to vote for American women.”

The Book Gallery

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

@ubookman The mission of @ubookman is to identify and discuss those books that diagnose the modern age through the prism of the Permanent Things and so to support cultural renewal. Thanks for joining Bookman writers and readers to do our part to redeem the time. https://buff.ly/6uf2yRz

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