By the time this issue reaches our subscribers, the nation will have chosen its two contending nominees for President. Unfortunately, the current candidates do not seem to have taken to heart the advice suggested by Christopher Layne, whose book, No More Illusions, is reviewed in this issue. Layne argues that our foreign policy has been marred by a messianic interventionism that conceals the natural limitations of projecting political power across the world. Thebook is a timely reflection on American foreign policy as we leave the Bush years.
Our other contributions to this issue are equally significant. Craig Bernthal demolishes the writings of China Miéville, a fantasy writer much honored but whose work partakes perhaps too much of what Kirk called the “diabolic imagination.” In addition, this issue features a wonderful essay by Fr. Schall and considerations of Alasdair MacIntyre, Christian aesthetics, science and religion, and Robert Novak.
Before discussing our planned future issues of the Bookman, we must first take a moment to say goodbye to one of the Bookman’s most devoted servants. Claudia Henrie has been involved with the Bookman for many years, most recently as our managing editor. In many ways, she has also been the Bookman’s institutional memory, and we literally could not have survived without her hard work and dedication. Claudia has determined to focus on her young family and other responsibilities. Her service will be memorialized on our masthead as Managing Editor Emerita. Joseph Lindsley, who works tirelessly as the director of ISI’s Collegiate Network, has agreed to come on board as our new managing editor. With our staff changes, our planned combined issue 45:4/46:1 was omitted inadvertently. We deeply regret this error, and will make up the missing issue to our subscribers and supporters. I am confident that in the future, we will ensure that such lapses do not recur.
We are pleased to announce that Bill Kauffman, author of the recent Ain’t My America, will serve as a guest editor for a special issue on regionalism. Mr. Kauffman is at the forefront of a new generation of conservative writers who are rediscovering the American past, specifically its localist, small-town, and anti-imperialist traditions, both commercial and military. We are also putting together an issue devoted to our founder, Russell Kirk, which will feature review-essays by well-known Kirk scholars as well as some new voices.
