Category Archives: English

Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne

Here are some highlights from this 2022 book by Katherine Rundell: * The power of John Donne’s words nearly killed a man. It was the late spring of 1623, on the morning of Ascension Day, and Donne had finally secured … Continue reading

Posted in English | Comments Off on Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne

Conflict in the Academy: A Study in the Sociology of Intellectuals (2015)

Review: “In late 1980, an apparently minor dispute at Cambridge University became headline news. The question was whether or not the young lecturer Colin MacCabe – whose work was heavily influenced by recent developments in structuralist and post-structuralist theory – … Continue reading

Posted in Cambridge, English | Comments Off on Conflict in the Academy: A Study in the Sociology of Intellectuals (2015)

Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States

Here are some highlights from this 2012 book by David Hackett Fischer: * When one compares these many accounts, one notices that the same language of description tends to occur. Karl Popper described New Zealanders as “decent, friendly and well-disposed.” … Continue reading

Posted in America, Australia, England, English, New Zealand | Comments Off on Fairness and Freedom: A History of Two Open Societies: New Zealand and the United States

Paul Johnson’s A History Of The English People

In his prologue to the 1980 edition, Johnson wrote: * A third objection to this book is that, in its exclusive preoccupation with the English, or rather with the peoples who have occupied the land we call England, it presupposes … Continue reading

Posted in English | Comments Off on Paul Johnson’s A History Of The English People

Protecting the wisdom of the West (Classical Liberalism & Jewish Tradition)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Alexander_(professor) https://www.amazon.com/Classical-Liberalism-Jewish-Tradition-Alexander/dp/0765801531 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred,_Lord_Tennyson https://www.telelib.com/authors/T/TennysonAlfred/verse/suppressedpoems/hersperides.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Trilling Bud: “Very many of the big names in American Literature have been Jewish for a generation now. Charles Feidelson, Leslie Feidler, Nina Baym, Sacvan Bercovitch, etc. Also during this generation (between 1960-2000), the study of … Continue reading

Posted in English, Jews | Comments Off on Protecting the wisdom of the West (Classical Liberalism & Jewish Tradition)