When Virginians Ruled (or, Against Political Nostalgia)

When Virginians Ruled (or, Against Political Nostalgia)

The Jeffersonians: The Visionary Presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe  By Kevin R. C. Gutzman. St. Martin’s Press, 2022. Hardcover, 608 pages, $37. Reviewed by Adam L. Tate. It seems that in every age, the politically frustrated harken back to better days....
The Inspiration We Need

The Inspiration We Need

By Strange Ways: Theologians and Their Paths to the Catholic Church Edited by Jonathan Fuqua and Daniel Strudwick. Ignatius Press, 2022. Paperback, 300 pages, $19.95. Reviewed by Thomas Griffin. Conversion, the redirecting of one’s life towards God and truth, is the...
A Very American Historian

A Very American Historian

C. Vann Woodward: America’s Historian By James C. Cobb.  University of North Carolina Press, 2022. Hardcover, 504 pages, $37.50. Reviewed by John C. Chalberg. Should C. Vann Woodward be regarded as America’s historian? Given his career and this biography, a more...
Arguing the Unarguable Thing

Arguing the Unarguable Thing

Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing By Ryan T. Anderson and Alexandra DeSanctis. Regnery Publishing, 2022. Hardcover, 256 pages, $29.99. Reviewed by Nicole M. King. It is common practice for professors (or teaching assistants) of English...
Why We Need Beauty

Why We Need Beauty

A Philosophy of Beauty: Shaftesbury on Nature, Virtue, and Art By Michael B. Gill.  Princeton University Press, 2022. Hardcover, 248 pages, $39.95. Reviewed by Lee Trepanier. Now neglected in the Western canon, Shaftesbury’s Characteristicks of Men, Manners, Opinions,...
What Makes a Classic?

What Makes a Classic?

Wit’s Treasury: Renaissance England and the Classics  By Stephen Orgel. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021. Hardcover,  216 pages, $39.95. Reviewed by John Tuttle. What is a classic? It’s a provocative question for the literary-bent mind. Just what...