The Grandiose Moralist

The Grandiose Moralist

by | Jul 14, 2019

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life by David Brooks. Random House, 2019. Hardcover, 384 pages, $28. Reviewed by Paul Brian David Brooks has a new book full of old ideas—and a lot of self-righteous platitudes thrown in for good measure. The Second Mountain...
Fragments of Shattered Empire

Fragments of Shattered Empire

by | Jun 16, 2019

Last Days in Old Europe: Trieste ’79, Vienna ’85, Prague ’89 By Richard Bassett. Allen Lane, 2019. Hardcover, 207 pages, $35. Reviewed by Kevin J. McNamara Empires demand histories as imperious as their subjects, but their aftermath, as this work by Richard Bassett...
Hibernian Pastoral

Hibernian Pastoral

by | May 12, 2019

My Father Left Me Ireland: An American Son’s Search for Home by Michael Brendan Dougherty Sentinel, 2019. Hardcover, 240 pages, $24. Reviewed by Chris R. Morgan Michael Brendan Dougherty’s My Father Left Me Ireland is the latest in a spate of books currently...
Framing a Life in Liberal Learning

Framing a Life in Liberal Learning

by | Mar 24, 2019

From the Cast-Iron Shore: In Lifelong Pursuit of Liberal Learning by Francis Oakley. University of Notre Dame Press, 2018. Paperback, 526 pages, $35. Reviewed by Weronika Janczuk The story narrated in any given memoir is dependent on the life of the one who narrates....
The Doctor’s Mask, Removed

The Doctor’s Mask, Removed

by | Mar 17, 2019

Counting Backwards: A Doctor’s Notes on Anesthesia by Henry Jay Przybylo, MD. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2017. Hardcover, 256 pages, $26. Reviewed by Jacob A. Bruggeman On occasion, one can come upon good books by coincidence. An offhand recommendation from a...