The Pacific War by William B. Hopkins

I have read a lot of books on the individual battles fought in the Pacific Theater during World War II, but I have not read much on the strategy used by American political and military leaders – other than Plan Orange. So, in order to learn more about the strategy, I decided to read [...]

LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay by Warren Kozak

Unlike many of the great ground commanders of World War II, most of the great air force generals other than Jimmy Doolittle are ciphers to even aficionados of World War II history. One of the least studied and arguably most significant of these is General Curtis Lemay.
LeMay’s life is not only one of a great [...]

Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift by Paul Rahe

“Let our motto be, as once it was, ‘Don’t tread on me!’ And let our virtue be individual responsibility.”

I had the pleasure of speaking recently with Paul Rahe, who is the author of Soft Despotism, Democracy’s Drift: Montesquieu, Rousseau, Tocquville and the Modern Prospect (Yale University Press: 2009).
Professor Rahe’s book is the first of three [...]

The Future of Conservatism

Two authors with forthcoming books on conservatism’s history offer insight for its future.

George Kennan: A Writing Life by Lee Congdon

Cover of George Kennan: A Writing Life

George F. Kennan’s is not an easy figure to place on our rather simplified political spectrum.  His positions on the hot button issues of the day placed him on one side or the other, but just as often seemed to contradict each other.
He was opposed to Joseph McCarthy, nuclear [...]

Losing Mum and Pup by Christopher Buckley

I was prepared to be angry, but I decided to read the book first. And, despite the difficult nature of the subject, I am glad I did.

On Schama’s “The American Future.”

Now that David Brooks’s review of Simon Schama’s The American Future is up, I am re-posting here my review of the same book, which ran several months ago in the Winter 2008 issue of The City.

Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription by William F. Buckley

An insightful glimpse into Buckley’s style, perspective, and sense of humor.

Under God by Tara Ross and Joseph C. Smith

The author’s basic question is this: Why are the views of the much revered and respected Washington not part of the discussion on this critical topic?