Books That Make Us Human

By |2023-11-02T19:32:17-05:00November 2nd, 2023|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Bradley J. Birzer, Literature, Timeless Essays, Western Civilization|

When Winston Elliott created The Imaginative Conservative, he did so with the mission of addressing things that matter across time and for all of humanity—not just the political and economic problems and follies of the moment. In this, Winston wisely followed one of Russell Kirk’s most important ideas—that culture, theology, and literature count far more [...]

Books That Make Us Human

By |2023-07-25T17:10:41-05:00November 16th, 2022|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Catholicism, Conservatism, St. Augustine, Timeless Essays|

Here are my ten recommendations for reading, from Augustine’s “Confessions,” to Shakespeare’s Sonnets, to Eliot’s “Four Quartets.” 1. The Bible. It is one of the first books I read (not cover-to-cover, at first, of course), and the first book I memorized passages from as a child. I cannot imagine trying to think about or comprehend the [...]

Books That Make Us Human

By |2022-11-07T16:14:54-06:00November 7th, 2022|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Timeless Essays|Tags: |

My canon of the very best books that help us understand our humanity would contain no surprises. But allow me instead to suggest some works that are instructive for reasons quite different from those of the recognized classics. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson – It’s an untrue truism that good monster stories are really [...]

Books That Make Us Human

By |2022-10-26T16:57:11-05:00October 26th, 2022|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Conservatism, Film, Literature, Stephen Masty, Timeless Essays, Western Civilization|

I take the blame for this idiosyncratic list. Since my betters have identified so many stellar choices, I propose the somewhat obscure: books (presented in no order) that may lead an already-humane human in the direction of the holy as unexpected and inspirational, maybe mischievous and mirthful. Great? Maybe not, but possible nectar for an [...]

Books That Make Us Human

By |2022-10-31T15:42:00-05:00October 12th, 2022|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Conservatism, John Willson, Literature, Pope Benedict XVI, Timeless Essays, Western Civilization|

This is a quirky list. I sit here with tattered old books, some new ones, and my Kindle, and love them all; and offer ten that I have read in the years since my retirement from full-time teaching. Each has given me joy, and each speaks to what Brad Birzer calls the “human condition.” Booth [...]

Books That Make Us Human: Anthony Williams

By |2014-01-17T14:13:19-06:00September 22nd, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Conservatism, Literature, Western Civilization|

by Anthony Williams St. Augustine’s Confessions: teaches us that man’s struggle to find God is hardly new. I especially enjoyed his reference to the “hound of God”: what an apt description of the Spirit! Antigone: I don’t remember much about this one, to be frank, but I do remember that it’s a powerful story of [...]

Books That Make Us Human

By |2015-05-18T14:57:16-05:00September 22nd, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Catholicism, Conservatism, Literature, Western Civilization|Tags: |

Willa Cather 1) My Antonia, by Willa Cather: Cather’s story of immigrants and the land celebrates the surprising inner strength of one young woman who learns to cultivate the earth, while many who lack her fortitude succumb to the trials of frontier life or give in to their own weak wills. 2) Soldier of the [...]

Book That Make Us Human: Kelly Williams and Casey Holmes

By |2014-01-17T14:16:46-06:00September 21st, 2011|Categories: Books that Make Us Human, Literature, Western Civilization|

The Lists 1. Bible 2. The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom 3. Toss up between Mere Christianity, Abolition of Man, Great Divorce, and Last Battle, C.S. Lewis 4. “The Right Hand,” Solzynistyn (short story) 5. “The Death of Ivan Ilych,” Tolstoy (short story) 6. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings 7. Confessions, St. Augustine 8. Gulag [...]

Books That Make Us Human: Father John Rickert

By |2014-01-12T15:45:52-06:00September 20th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Literature, Western Civilization|

by Father John Rickert 1. Juan Donoso Cortés: Essay on Catholicism, Liberalism, and Socialism. Donoso argues that political questions are at root theological questions, and Liberalism is fundamentally the denial of the doctrine of Original Sin as understood in the Catholic sense. Bl. Pius IX warmly approved this book, as did Garrigou-Lagrange and Orestes Brownson. 2. Juan [...]

Books That Make Us Human

By |2022-03-16T09:59:25-05:00September 19th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Liberal Learning, Literature, Western Civilization|

These are not the 10 best works I’ve read (though some of them belong in that category), but they all give us an unvarnished glimpse of the human condition. I’ve tried to give a decent sampling here. I’ve got a biblical text, two theological texts, one philosophical, two novels, two plays, and two poems. These [...]

Books That Make Us Human: Tony Williams

By |2016-02-16T14:32:52-06:00September 16th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Communio, Conservatism, Pope Benedict XVI, Western Civilization|Tags: |

Pope John Paul II When Brad Birzer asked me to write about the ten books that most heavily shaped my understanding of the human person, I retorted that he might as well ask me which of my children I love best. I agonized over the list interminably and tried not to cheat too [...]

Books that Make Us Human: Matthew White

By |2014-01-09T16:26:19-06:00September 16th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Film|

by Matthew White Moby Dick, by Herman Melville: A vast and sprawling narrative with a tightly wound core. As fine a cautionary tale as I’ve ever read. Brothers Karamazov, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky: The author Jim Harrison remarked to me that he was told once to read this book so he might never be lonely, for [...]

Books That Make Us Human: Matthew Anger

By |2014-01-09T16:12:45-06:00September 16th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Conservatism, Western Civilization|Tags: |

1. Life of Johnson by James Boswell–Hilaire Belloc calls it the book one can read “in pretty well any circumstances…save shipwreck.” Johnson himself put a high value on the “history of manners” and everyday life. A good biography is not hagiography. Samuel Johnson was a flawed figure, yet one clearly deserving of our admiration. It is hard [...]

Books Don’t Make Us Human

By |2014-12-09T11:19:01-06:00September 16th, 2011|Categories: Books, Books that Make Us Human, Julie Baldwin|

Can books make us human or are we born human? I would like to re-word the thesis of this symposium, and present my list of books that are known to make people humane, and thus be a catalyst to make the reader an enlightened, knowledgeable, and truth-seeking missile of a human being. People are homo sapiens, even [...]

Go to Top