The Patterns of Living

The Patterns of Living

by | Jan 12, 2020

Cities Alive: Jane Jacobs, Christopher Alexander, and the Roots of the New Urban Renaissance by Michael W. Mehaffy. Sustasis Press, 2017. Paperback, $20. Reviewed by Gene Callahan I first encountered the work of the great urban theorist Jane Jacobs due to the...
Practice Makes Virtue

Practice Makes Virtue

by | Jan 5, 2020

How to Be Unlucky: Reflections on the Pursuit of Virtue by Joshua Gibbs. CiRCE Institute, 2018. Paperback, 239 pages. $16. Reviewed by Elizabeth Bittner If we were to judge a book by its cover, we would likely steer clear of Joshua Gibbs’s latest work. Titled How to...
Bair, Beauvoir, and the Becketeers

Bair, Beauvoir, and the Becketeers

by | Dec 29, 2019

Parisian Lives: Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir, and Me: A Memoir by Deidre Bair. Nan A. Talese, 2019. Hardcover, 368 pages, $29.95. Reviewed by Michial Farmer When she set out to write her award-winning biography of Samuel Beckett, Deirdre Bair had never even read...
What Does Athens Have to Do with America?

What Does Athens Have to Do with America?

by | Dec 8, 2019

Ancient Greece and American Conservatism: Classical Influence on the Modern Right By John Bloxham. I.B. Tauris/Bloomsbury Academic, 2018. Hardcover, 284 pages, $99 (Paperback, $40). Reviewed by Grant Havers The application of ancient Greek thought and history to...
Getting Out of the Hole

Getting Out of the Hole

by | Dec 8, 2019

On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts by James K. A. Smith. Brazos Press, 2019. Hardcover, 256 pages, $25. Reviewed by James Davenport There is an old parable I have often been told. It goes something like this: A man is...