A Plodding Penn
William Penn: A Life Andrew R. Murphy Oxford University Press, 2018. Hardcover, 488 pages, $35. Reviewed by Carl Rollyson By the time William Penn (1644–1718) received his charter in 1681 from King Charles II for a new American colony he was already behind the times....
The Possibilities and Impossibilities of Willmoore Kendall
by Joshua Tait There are many legends about the political theorist Willmoore Kendall. A great deal of them are true. He was a founding editor of National Review. He reported on the Spanish Civil War. He worked in military intelligence. He spoke three languages and...
A Compelling and Contradictory Prophet
Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight. Simon and Schuster, 2018. Hardcover, 888 pages, $37.50. Reviewed by Annelisa J. Purdie Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) is a remarkable and compelling figure in American history. His portraits are among the most...
Thought Is a Labyrinth
Questioning Minds: The Letters of Guy Davenport and Hugh Kenner Edited by Edward M. Burns. Counterpoint, 2018. Hardcover, 2016 pages, $95. Reviewed by Phil Christman Culture is, among other things, a conspiracy of the like-minded. “The idea is to accumulate a Vortex,”...
"Delsol’s analysis stands out for the breadth of its perspective. Her essay covers topics as varied as corporatism, the French love for status and strikes, immigration, religion and secularism, populism and the role of intellectuals, Jacobinism, and the EU..."