The Federalist party, of course, is no more. It barely lasted past the fiftieth anniversary of American independence. But, as Russell Kirk demonstrated throughout his work, its conservative vision remains one of the most profound expressions of the meaning of the American Founding itself. - Michael Lucchese in "Ames, Hamilton, Marshall: Russell Kirk's Other Founding Federalists"

It is perhaps fitting that after spending the first decade of my life in the Soviet Union, I first learned about the Cold War as a high-schooler in America. Fish, the cliché goes, don’t think about the water in which they swim, although I think this was even more complicated for the fish swimming in the Soviet fishtank. - @NadyaWilliams81 on COLD WAR CITY by David E. Barclay

The Foundations of Re-Enchantment will likely join the long list of sources Coome cites as an important text on esoteric societies, Freemasonry, and the colorful individuals involved in both. But if the study of such things has any broader relevance today, it must remind us that the yearning experienced by those who claim to be “spiritual but not religious” is neither new nor likely to lead to any lasting happiness (let alone genuine enlightenment). - Camilo Peralta on THE FOUNDATIONS OF RE-ENCHANTMENT by Christopher Coome

Well, it’s a parenting win of one sort or another.

Congratulations! Great news.

Two weeks from today we discuss Russell Kirk's LORD OF THE HOLLOW DARK! "This mythical romance, conforming faithfully to the canons of the Gothick tale as expounded by Walter Scott in his memoir of Ann Radcliffe, I dedicate to my sister, Carolyn, whom I endeavored to affright in her tender years. She will know this narrative to be perfectly true." - Russell Kirk, 1979 @ubookman @jamespanero @newcriterion

These letters further confirm that [Harold] Bloom, a guardian of our Western literary heritage, was one of the most important minds of the past half century. We shall not look upon his like again. - Oliver Spivey on THE MAN WHO READ EVERYTHING @yalepress

Regardless of which diagnosis prevails, as Sean Keilen argues, one of the sources of revival of the liberal arts is the works of William Shakespeare. - Jesse Russell on SHAKESPEARE'S SCHOLARS @PrincetonUPress

In all likelihood, my children will enjoy reading through the book many more times even as they grow older. The language and style are vivid and elegant all throughout, and the stories have a timeless quality that works on multiple levels. It is a pleasant throwback to the early classics of yesteryear and a great addition to any family’s home library. - Auguste Meyrat on SIR BISCUIT BUTTERWORTH AND OTHER SHORT STORIES by @paul_jkrause @resourcepubs

Even with his occasional missteps and argumentative tangents, Belloc remains a draught of fresh air and a happy antidote to the official version of English national history, with its idealized tale of public-spirited reforms and liberal advances broadening down to the happy present. His books are no less instructive today than they were in his lifetime, and Mysterium Press deserves our thanks for restoring a small piece of what otherwise might have been lost. - Thomas Banks on CHARLES II and JAMES II by Hilaire Belloc @mysteriumpress

“War Without Mercy” may not offer anything genuinely new to the historiography of the American Revolution. But in this year of many milestones but little reflection, it is an engaging and salutary reminder of the consequences of existential strife and the brutality of civil war. - Gil Barndollar on WAR WITHOUT MERCY by Mark Lender and James Martin @OspreyBooks

Nailed it!

We do. @ubookman.

"I borrow from Smith’s closing questions for his college students and ask myself, “What is one thing I learned this semester [or from this book] that I do not want to lose hold of going forward? How can I carry it forward?” I hope to plan and act and speak with intention in and out of the classroom, knowing that my efforts as a teacher are one small part of shaping my students in their everyday habits but more importantly, their eternal purpose." - Christine Norvel on David Smith's EVERYDAY CHRISTIAN TEACHING @eerdmansbooks

"Max Nikias’s memoir of his career, especially his time as president at USC, is a fascinating tale of how a man from the world of STEM worked at great length trying to get one of our nation’s great educational machines to perform better." - Christopher Green (@osuchasecenter) on @MaxNikias_'s AMERICAN TROJAN @EncounterBooks

"Sometimes, a title speaks for itself..." Nathaniel Urban on @heritage president's HIGHER EDUCATION IN AMERICA: IT'S WORSE THAN YOU THINK. @christopherrufo @EncounterBooks

"Civilizations are dynamic. They change while they remain the same. The work of reconstitution requires judgment that can differentiate between the good, the bad, and the ugly in the drama of history while recognizing that they are, in combination, part of the very texture of history." - Michael Federici on Walter McDougall's THE MIGHTY CONTINENT @C_and_C_Books