Book Reviews

March 28, 2022

The “Dumbest Generation” has finally grown up

In his “Parable of the Madman,” Nietzsche, reflecting on the death of God, observes that “this tremendous event is still on its way,” continuing that “deeds, though done, still require time to be seen and heard.” Continue Reading...

March 15, 2022

“Make it art first”: The freedom of the artist in cancel culture

Among the rarest qualities of the late American filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, who died in January at age 82, was his conviction, repeatedly stated and consistently in evidence in his work, that the art of film had its own set of rules and precedents. Continue Reading...

March 01, 2022

Does anyone care who John Galt is anymore?

If it had not been for the railroads, I would never have gotten beyond the first chapter of Atlas Shrugged. Having had a vague idea of what Ayn Rand believed in, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the story depended so heavily on the Iron Horse (given that most “libertarians” view trains as collectivist and bad and cars as admirable chariots of liberty). Continue Reading...

December 06, 2021

Religion in the public square strengthens public discourse

Religious expression in the public square is currently challenged by two competing concerns. On the left, some worry that religion is an anti-rational monolith, quietly subverting legitimate expressions of democracy. Others, on the right, worry that religious diversity destroys cultural cohesion, which they see as necessary to democracy. Continue Reading...

December 07, 2020

Book Review: ‘Sex and the Unreal City’ by Anthony Esolen

Sex and the Unreal City. Anthony Esolen Ignatius Press. 2020. 209 pages. What is the primary problem in society? An embrace of unreality, answers Anthony Esolen in his latest book, Sex and the Unreal City. Continue Reading...

March 12, 2020

Why culture matters for the economy

This article first appeared on February 24, 2020, in Law & Liberty, a project of Liberty Fund, Inc., and was republished with permission. In many peoples’ minds, economics and economists remain locked in a world of homo economicus—the ultimate pleasure-calculator who seeks only to maximize personal satisfaction from the consumption of goods and services and whose occasional displays of seemingly altruistic behavior really only function as a means of self-satisfaction. Continue Reading...

February 21, 2020

Three books to help you think like an economist

Everyone knows that there is a difference between knowing about something and knowing how to do something. The first is a superficial way of knowing, not a bad way to begin, but it is no substitute for the mastery which comes by integrating knowledge into experience. Continue Reading...

February 13, 2020

A concise natural law reading list

One of the occupational hazards of being a librarian is that people are always asking you for book recommendations. The truth is that recommending books is more difficult than it seems. Continue Reading...

January 21, 2020

Samuel Gregg reviews ‘Islam: Menace or Challenge?’

In his new book, “L’Islam: menace ou défi?” (“Islam: Menace or Challenge?”), Bishop Dominique Rey addresses how Catholics in Europe can best respond to the growth of Islam throughout the continent. Continue Reading...

January 20, 2020

2019 Best sellers: Surprises in the Acton Book Shop

Book sales data is hard to come by. Publishers keep their sales numbers close to their chest. The information is valuable. It shapes which authors, designers and editors publishers cultivate as well as which topics, genres and formats they invest in. Continue Reading...

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