Books

Auden: The Quality of Doubt

– “Auden: The Quality of Doubt” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, November 1942. (A review of The Double Man by W. H. Auden.)

Excerpt: Auden is certainly one of those “whose works are in better taste than their lives.” His early verse, ideologically viewed, was brashly positive, didactic, clever,… More

A Christian Experiment

– “A Christian Experiment” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, January 1943. (A review of The Seed Beneath the Snow by Ignazio Silone.)

Excerpt: To Thomas Mann’s dictum:  “In our time the destiny of man presents its meaning in political terms,” we may add the observation, drawn from current intellectual… More

James Burnham’s “The Machiavellians”

– “James Burnham's 'The Machiavellians'" (as William Ferry), Enquiry, July 1943. (A review of The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: The atmosphere, these days, contains a good deal more of what is called ‘realism’ than is usually considered desirable for healthy progress. In some measure this is a… More

Review of Dangling Man

– Review of Dangling Man by Saul Bellow, Politics, June 1944.

In Hillel’s Steps

– "In Hillel's Steps," Commentary, February 1947.  (A review of In Darkest Germany by Victor Gollancz.)

Excerpt: In the eyes of the British public, Victor Gollancz is probably one of the outstanding Jewish laymen in the country. When one considers the fact that he is neither especially active… More

Nightmare Come True

– "Nightmare Come True," Commentary, October 1947. (A review of The Other Kingdom by David Rousset, Smoke over Birkenau by Seweryna Szmaglewska, and Beyond the Last Path, by Eugene Weinstock.)

Excerpt: We wish that the men in Buchenwald had acted differently, that there had been more human cooperation and self-sacrifice. But how would we have acted? What would we have done in the… More

How Basic Is “Basic Judaism”?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World

– "How Basic Is 'Basic Judaism'?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World," Commentary, January 1948. (A review of Basic Judaism by Milton Steinberg.)

Excerpt: It is social philosophy that is his talking point, and not religion. Judaism, Rabbi Steinberg finds, has an immanent political doctrine that adds up to “political democracy, to a… More

Christian Theology and the Jews

– "Christian Theology and the Jews," Commentary, April 1948.  (Christianity and the Children of Israel, by A. Roy Eckardt.)

Excerpt: Mr. Eckardt, who is an exponent of “neo-Reformation” Protestant Orthodoxy as preached by Paul Tillich and Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr, has chosen a difficult and delicate… More

Boundaries of Belief

– "Boundaries of Belief," Commentary, March 1949. (A review of The Protestant Era by Paul Tillich.)

Excerpt: These eighteen essays by an outstanding Protestant thinker are so compact and significant that they require extended commentary and criticism. All that can be done in this brief… More

The Slaughter-Bench of History

– "The Slaughter-Bench of History," Commentary, July 1949. (A review of Faith and History by Reinhold Niebuhr and Meaning in History by Karl Lowitz.)

Excerpt: Judaism is tormented by the fact that the Messiah has not come, while the gas chambers have. Christianity is tormented by the fact that the Messiah did come, almost two thousand… More

Elegy for a Lost World

– "Elegy for a Lost World," Commentary, May 1950.  (A review of The Earth Is the Lord's by Abraham Joshua Heschel.)

Excerpt: More important is the fact that Dr. Heschel occasionally succumbs to what can only be called romantic simplification. Poland was not, after all, Paradise, and Eastern Europe cannot… More

American Humanist

– "American Humanist," Commentary, November 1950. (A review of Classics and Commercials and The Little Blue Light by Edmund Wilson.)

Excerpt: “He has a genuine classical taste, he is not often influenced by fads, and he reads, and writes about what he reads, because he honestly enjoys doing so. Literature is for him… More

Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?

– “Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?” The New Leader, December 25, 1950. (A review of The Gentleman and the Jew by Maurice Samuel.)

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)

Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

In Power Begins Curiosity

– “In Power Begins Curiosity,” Partisan Review, no. 3, 1952. (A review of The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr.)

The Indefatigable Fabian

– “The Indefatigable Fabian,” New York Times Book Review, August 24, 1952. (A review of Beatrice Webb's Diaries: 1912-1924, edited by Margaret I. Cole.)

Two Varieties of Democracy

– "Two Varieties of Democracy," Commentary, September 1952.  (A review of The Rise of Totalitarian Democracy by J. L. Talmon.)

Excerpt: An essential defect of Mr. Talmon’s analysis is that he takes the ideology of “totalitarian democracy” as corresponding to an actual fact. In a sense he is deceived by the… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

The Philosophers’ Hidden Truth

– "The Philosophers' Hidden Truth," Commentary, October 1952.  (A review of Persecution and the Art of Writing by Leo Strauss.)

Excerpt: No doubt, there will be scholars who will respectfully dispute Professor Strauss on just about every point. They will find, as many already know, that he is a most formidable… More

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

The Web of Realism

– "The Web of Realism," Commentary, June 1954.  (A review of The Web of Subversion: Underground Networks in the United States Government by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: In The Web of Subversion, Mr. Burnham presents a terse and lucid summary of what has been discovered by various investigating committees about Communist espionage networks in the… More

American Ghosts

– “American Ghosts,” Encounter, July 1954.  (A review of The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow and Brothers to Dragons by R. D. Warner.)

The Judgment of Clio

– “The Judgment of Clio,” Encounter, January 1955.  (A review of Historical Inevitability by Isaiah Berlin.)

The Family Way

– “The Family Way,” Encounter, December 1955.  (A review of Uncommon People by Paul Bloomfield.)

America: Mystery and Mystifications

– “America: Mystery and Mystifications,” Encounter, January 1956.  (A review of American Government by Richard Pear, History of the United States by R. B. Nie and J. E. Mopurgo, The Great Experiment by Frank Thistlethwaite, and The Age of Reform: From Bryan to FDR by Richard Hofstadter.)

Bridge and the Human Condition

– “Bridge and the Human Condition,” Encounter, February 1956.  (A review of Theory of Games as a Tool for the Moral Philosopher by R. B. Braithwaite, Aces All by Guy Ramsey, and Sorry Partner by Paul Sterns.)

The College and the University

– “The College and the University,” Encounter, March 1956.  (A review of The Development of Academic Freedom in the United States by Richard Hofstadter and Walter Metzger.)

The Heterodox Conformist

– “The Heterodox Conformist,” Encounter, April 1956.  (A review of Socialism and the New Despotism by R. H. S. Crossman.)

“…And People Opening Veins in Baths”

– “'...And People Opening Veins in Baths',” Encounter, May 1956.  (A review of Tacitus on Imperial Rome translated by Michael Graves and Tiberius: A Study in Resentment by Gregorio Maranon.)

Excerpt: We have lost the habit of judging tyrants so harshly, for we are more attentive to their historical roles, their “objective” tasks, than to their human meanings. It is the… More

The Rock of Eden

– “The Rock of Eden,” Encounter, June 1956.  (A review of The Dream of Success, by Kenneth S. Lynn, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, and The Exurbanites, by A. C. Spectorsky.)

A Philosophy for Little England

– “A Philosophy for Little England,” Encounter, July 1956.  (A review of Philosophy, Politics, and Society edited by Peter Laslett.)

Socialism without Socialists

– “Socialism without Socialists,” Encounter, August 1956. (A review of Twentieth Century Socialism by Socialist Union.)

Not One World

– "Not One World," Commentary, August 1956.  (A review of American Politics in a Revolutionary World, by Chester Bowles.)

Excerpt: Basically, what Mr. Bowles has done is to follow the honorable 19th-century custom of transplanting the Whig interpretation of history—history as the unfolding story of… More

A Philosophy for Little England?

– “A Philosophy for Little England?” (A reply), Encounter, September 1956.

Europe’s Underground

– “Europe's Underground,” Encounter, September 1956. (A review of Passion and Society by Denis de Rougemont.)

“A Condition of Mere Nature”

– “'A Condition of Mere Nature',” Encounter, October 1956.  (A review of The Anglo-American Tradition in Foreign Affairs edited by Arnold Wolfers and Lawrence W. Martin.)

India to Us

– “India to Us,” Encounter, November 1956.  (A review of Conversations with Mr. Nehru by Tibor Mende.)

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)

Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

The New Forsyte Saga

– “The New Forsyte Saga,” Encounter, December 1956. (A review of How the Soviet System Works by Raymond A. Bauer, et al and  Russia without Stalin by Edward Crankshaw.)

Vox Populi, Vox Dei?

– “Vox Populi, Vox Dei?” Encounter, March 1957.  (A review of Torment of Secrecy by Edward Shils and Freedom or Secrecy by James Russell Wiggins.)

Politics, Sacred and Profane

– “Politics, Sacred and Profane,” Encounter, September 1957.  (A review of Battle for the Mind by William Sargent and Captured in Tibet by Robert Ford.)

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)

Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

Britain’s Change of Life

– “Britain's Change of Life,” The New Leader, October 21, 1957. (A review of They Are the British by Drew Middleton.)

The Essence of Capitalism

– “The Essence of Capitalism,” Encounter, November 1957. (A review of Polity and Economy by Joseph Cropsey.)

“I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic…”

– “'I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic...',” Encounter, December 1957. (A review of The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard.)

American Ambiguities

– “American Ambiguities,” Encounter, January 1958.  (A review of The Jacksonian Persuasion by Marvin Meyers.)

Excerpt: One of the most fruitful of Professor Meyers’ insights is contained in the title. The word “persuasion,” which he defines as “a half-formulated moral perspective… More

The Hidden Persuaders

– “The Hidden Persuaders” (A reply to letters), Encounter, February 1958.

“The Hidden Persuaders”

– “'The Hidden Persuaders'” (Another reply), Encounter, March 1958.

Our Boondoggling Democracy

– "Our Boondoggling Democracy," Commentary, August 1958.  (A review of The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

Excerpt: The Affluent Society is by far the most serious critique of “welfare capitalism” that has been written in the post-Marxian era. (It is perhaps worth remarking that, though Mr.… More

The Shadow of a War

– “The Shadow of a War,” Reporter, February 5, 1959. (A review of Every War but One by Eugene Kinkead.)

Guernica to Hiroshima

– “Guernica to Hiroshima,” Reporter, March 19, 1959.  (A review of The Great Decision by Michael Amrine.)

Toward Pre-Emptive War?

– “Toward Pre-Emptive War?,” Reporter, May 14, 1959.  (A review of War and the Soviet Union by Herbert S. Dinerstein.)

The Conquistadors’ Conscience

– “The Conquistadors' Conscience,” Reporter, September 17, 1959. (A review of Aristotle and the American Indians by Louis Hanke.)

Strange Gods on Capitol Hill

– “Strange Gods on Capitol Hill,” Reporter, November 12, 1959. (A review of Advise and Consent by Allen Drury.)

On the Burning Deck

– “On the Burning Deck,” Reporter, November 26, 1959.  (A review of Up from Liberalism by William F. Buckley, Jr.)

The Masculine Mode

– “The Masculine Mode,” Encounter, December 1959. (A review of The Spare Chancellor: The Life of Walter Bagehot by Alistar Buchan.)

D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett

– "D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett," Commentary, February 1960. (A review of Mark Twain and Southwestern Humor by Kenneth S. Lynn.)

Excerpt: There is nothing quite like American humorous writing in the literature of other nations. Nowhere else is humor so central to the literary tradition, so intimately revealing of the… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Last of the Whigs

– "Last of the Whigs," Commentary, April 1960.  (A review of The Constitution of Liberty, by F.A. Hayek.)

Excerpt: Professor Friederich Hayek, who is usually thought of as a conservative and laisser-fairist, can be more accurately regarded (and clearly defines himself) as the last surviving… More

A Matter of Fundamentals

– “A Matter of Fundamentals,” Encounter, April 1960.  (A review of America the Vincible by Emmet John Hughes and  Beyond Survival by Max Ways.)

Keeping Up with Ourselves

– “Keeping Up with Ourselves,” Yale Review, June 1960. (A review of The End of Ideology by Daniel Bell.)

Excerpt: There is no question that terribly important things have happened to America in recent decades; but “the end of ideology” is not one of them, and Mr. Bell’s title… More

A Treasure for the Future

– "A Treasure for the Future," The New Republic, July 10, 1961. (A review of Between Past and Future:  Six Exercises in Political Thought by Hannah Arendt.)

Excerpt: The subtitle, however, may be misleading. Miss Arendt writes with passion and urgency, and she is a woman of strong political opinions. But she isn’t a political thinker in… More

Democracy and Its Discontents

– “Democracy and Its Discontents,” Harper's, September 1961. (A review of eight books.)

The Idea of Mass Culture

– “The Idea of Mass Culture,” Yale Review, February 1962. (A review of The Political Context of Sociology by Leon Bramson.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The View from Miami

– “The View from Miami,” Encounter, November 1963.  (A review of Great Britain or Little England? by John Mander, A State of England by Anthony Hartley, and The Outsiders: A Liberal View of Britain by James Morris.)

Murder in New Jersey

– “Murder in New Jersey,” New York Review of Books, April 16, 1964. (A review of Doe Day: The Antlerless Deer Controversy in New Jersey by Paul Tillett.)

Excerpt: Paul Tillett’s Doe Day has a far more modest compass, and in it science suffers no such interesting and ironic reversals. But it, too, is enlightening in a way that few works of… More

Mythraking

– “Mythraking,” The New Leader, May 11, 1964. (A review of The End of Alliance by Ronald Steel.)

One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society

– “One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society,” Harper's, March 1966. (A review of Freedom Through Power by William Withers and Reclaiming the American Dream by Richard C. Cornuelle.)

The Pauper Problem

– “The Pauper Problem,” The New Leader, December 5, 1966. (A review of The Poorhouse State by Richard M. Elman and The Despised Poor by Joseph P. Ritz.)

Professor Galbraith’s “New Industrial State”

– “Professor Galbraith's 'New Industrial State',” Fortune, July 1967. (A review of The New Industrial State by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention

– “As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention,” Fortune, September 1967. (A review of Invention and Economic Growth by Jacob Schmookler.)

Common Sense about the Urban Crisis

– “Common Sense about the Urban Crisis,” Fortune, October 1967. (A review of Metropolitan Enigma, United States Chamber of Commerce.)

Who’s in Charge Here?

– “Who's in Charge Here?” Fortune, November 1967. (A review of The Power Structure by Arnold Rose.)

“Iron Mountain” Lies beyond Credibility Gap

– “Iron Mountain Lies beyond Credibility Gap,” Fortune, January 1968. (A review of Report from Iron Mountain edited by Leonard Lewin.)

Men on the Move

– “Men on the Move,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of American Occupational Structure by Otis Dudley Duncan.)

The Strange Death of Liberal Education

– “The Strange Death of Liberal Education,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of Higher Education and Modern Democracy by Robert Goldwin.)

Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant

– “Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant,” Fortune, April 1968. (A review of Management and Machiavelli by Jay Anthony.)

The New Regulators

– “The New Regulators,” Fortune, June 15, 1968. (A review of Report of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Traffic, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

The Don Comes Up Like Thunder

– “The Don Comes Up Like Thunder,” Washington Post, August 25, 1968. (A review of A Runaway World? by Edmund Leach.)

Paying for Protection

– “Paying for Protection,” The New Leader, December 2, 1968. (A review of Varieties of Police Behavior by James Q. Wilson.)

The New Era of Innovation

– “The New Era of Innovation,” Fortune, February 1969. (A review of The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society by Peter Drucker.)

Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite

– “Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite,” Fortune, May 1, 1969. (A review of American Power and the New Mandarins by Noam Chomsky.)

The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis

– “The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis,” Fortune, June 1969. (A review of The Multi-Problem Dilemma by G. E. Brown.)

The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics

– “The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics,” Fortune, July 1969. (A review of An Essay on Liberation by Herbert Marcuse.)

In Search of the Missing Social Indicator

– “In Search of the Missing Social Indicator,” Fortune, August 1969. (A review of Toward a Social Report, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

Barbarians from Within

– “Barbarians from Within,” Fortune, March 1970. (A review of Decline of Radicalism: Reflections on America Today by Daniel Boorstin.)

The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes

– “The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes,” Fortune, June 1970. (A review of The Unheavenly City by Edward C. Banfield.)

History and Human Survival

– "History and Human Survival," New York Times, August 2, 1970. (A review of Essays on the Young And Old, Survivors And the Dead, and on Contemporary Psychohistory by Robert Jay Lifton.)

The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale

– “The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale,” Fortune, August 1971. (A review of Movement Toward a New America by Mitch Gooden.)

Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?

– “Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?” Fortune, November 1971. (A review of News Twister by Mitch Gooden.)

Our Gang and How It Prospered

– “Our Gang and How It Prospered,” Fortune, April 1972. (A review of The Gang and the Establishment by Richard W. Poston.)

I.Q. and a Professor’s Nightmare

– “I.Q. and a Professor's Nightmare,” Fortune, May 1973. (A review of I.Q. and the Meritocracy by Richard J. Herrnstein.)

A College President Discusses America

– “A College President Discusses America,” Fortune, April 1974. (A review of Blue-Collar Journey by John R. Coleman.)

How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses

– “How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses,” Fortune, September 1974. (A review of Anti-Bias Regulations of the University: Faculty Problems and Their Solutions by Richard A. Lester and The Balancing Act by George Roche.)

The High Cost of Equality

– “The High Cost of Equality,” Fortune, November 1975. (A review of Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff by Arthur Okun.)

Urban Utopias vs. the Real World

– “Urban Utopias vs. the Real World,” Fortune, July 1978. (A review of Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century by Robert Fisher.)

A New Look at Capitalism

– “A New Look at Capitalism” (A symposium on Wealth and Poverty by George Gilder), National Review, April 17, 1981.

The Feminist Attack on Smut

– "The Feminist Attack on Smut," The New Republic, July 25, 1981. (A review of Pornography and Silence by Susan Griffin.)

Excerpt: It was utterly predictable that freedom of pornographic speech and action would sooner  or later come into conflict with the women’s movement. Pornography, after all, has… More

The Dubious Science

– “The Dubious Science,” The New Republic, June 6, 1983. (A review of Dangerous Currents: The State of Economics by Lester Thurow.)

Let Europe Be Europe

– “Let Europe Be Europe,” New York Times Book Review, June 10, 1984. (A review of Antipolitics by George Konrad.)

The State of the Union

– “The State of the Union,” The New Republic, October 29, 1984. (A review of The Good News Is the Bad News Is Wrong by Ben Wattenberg.)

A Choice of Blind Alleys

– “A Choice of Blind Alleys,” Times Literary Supplement, November 23, 1984. (A review of Politics and the Pursuit of Happiness by Ghita Ionescu.)

After New Models

– “After New Models,” Times Literary Supplement, December 6, 1985. (A review of The Trouble with America by Michael Crozier.)

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

What Every Soviet Leader Wants

– "What Every Soviet Leader Wants," Fortune, September 1, 1986. (A review of The Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline by Seweryn Bialer.)

Excerpt: What should American policy toward the Soviet Union be? Nobody can answer that question without confronting another: What are Soviet intentions? I am not referring to short-term,… More

Wills’ America: A “Sophisticate” Takes Revenge

– “Wills' America: A 'Sophisticate' Takes Revenge,” Washington Times, February 9, 1987. (A review of Reagan's America by Garry Wills.)

Taking Political Things Personally

– “Taking Political Things Personally,” Times Literary Supplement, March 5, 1991. (A review of The American "Empire" and Other Studies of US Foreign Policy in a Comparative Perspective by Geir Lundestad and US Foreign Policy in the 1990s edited by Greg Schmergel.)

Standing Room Only

– “Standing Room Only,” Times Literary Supplement, July 12, 1991. (A review of American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion by Judith Shklar.)

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Liberties and Licences

– "Liberties and Licences," Times Literary Supplement, July 9, 1998.  (A review of Freedom and Virtue: The Conservative/Libertarian Debate edited by George W. Carey.)

The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009

– New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Foreword: In Memoriam: Irving Kristol, 1920-2009: William Kristol Introduction by Gertrude Himmelfarb   I. IN THE BEGINNING . . . : Enquiry Auden: The Quality of Doubt A Christian… More

Essays

Auden: The Quality of Doubt

– “Auden: The Quality of Doubt” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, November 1942. (A review of The Double Man by W. H. Auden.)

Excerpt: Auden is certainly one of those “whose works are in better taste than their lives.” His early verse, ideologically viewed, was brashly positive, didactic, clever,… More

A Christian Experiment

– “A Christian Experiment” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, January 1943. (A review of The Seed Beneath the Snow by Ignazio Silone.)

Excerpt: To Thomas Mann’s dictum:  “In our time the destiny of man presents its meaning in political terms,” we may add the observation, drawn from current intellectual… More

James Burnham’s “The Machiavellians”

– “James Burnham's 'The Machiavellians'" (as William Ferry), Enquiry, July 1943. (A review of The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: The atmosphere, these days, contains a good deal more of what is called ‘realism’ than is usually considered desirable for healthy progress. In some measure this is a… More

Review of Dangling Man

– Review of Dangling Man by Saul Bellow, Politics, June 1944.

In Hillel’s Steps

– "In Hillel's Steps," Commentary, February 1947.  (A review of In Darkest Germany by Victor Gollancz.)

Excerpt: In the eyes of the British public, Victor Gollancz is probably one of the outstanding Jewish laymen in the country. When one considers the fact that he is neither especially active… More

Nightmare Come True

– "Nightmare Come True," Commentary, October 1947. (A review of The Other Kingdom by David Rousset, Smoke over Birkenau by Seweryna Szmaglewska, and Beyond the Last Path, by Eugene Weinstock.)

Excerpt: We wish that the men in Buchenwald had acted differently, that there had been more human cooperation and self-sacrifice. But how would we have acted? What would we have done in the… More

How Basic Is “Basic Judaism”?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World

– "How Basic Is 'Basic Judaism'?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World," Commentary, January 1948. (A review of Basic Judaism by Milton Steinberg.)

Excerpt: It is social philosophy that is his talking point, and not religion. Judaism, Rabbi Steinberg finds, has an immanent political doctrine that adds up to “political democracy, to a… More

Christian Theology and the Jews

– "Christian Theology and the Jews," Commentary, April 1948.  (Christianity and the Children of Israel, by A. Roy Eckardt.)

Excerpt: Mr. Eckardt, who is an exponent of “neo-Reformation” Protestant Orthodoxy as preached by Paul Tillich and Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr, has chosen a difficult and delicate… More

Boundaries of Belief

– "Boundaries of Belief," Commentary, March 1949. (A review of The Protestant Era by Paul Tillich.)

Excerpt: These eighteen essays by an outstanding Protestant thinker are so compact and significant that they require extended commentary and criticism. All that can be done in this brief… More

The Slaughter-Bench of History

– "The Slaughter-Bench of History," Commentary, July 1949. (A review of Faith and History by Reinhold Niebuhr and Meaning in History by Karl Lowitz.)

Excerpt: Judaism is tormented by the fact that the Messiah has not come, while the gas chambers have. Christianity is tormented by the fact that the Messiah did come, almost two thousand… More

Elegy for a Lost World

– "Elegy for a Lost World," Commentary, May 1950.  (A review of The Earth Is the Lord's by Abraham Joshua Heschel.)

Excerpt: More important is the fact that Dr. Heschel occasionally succumbs to what can only be called romantic simplification. Poland was not, after all, Paradise, and Eastern Europe cannot… More

American Humanist

– "American Humanist," Commentary, November 1950. (A review of Classics and Commercials and The Little Blue Light by Edmund Wilson.)

Excerpt: “He has a genuine classical taste, he is not often influenced by fads, and he reads, and writes about what he reads, because he honestly enjoys doing so. Literature is for him… More

Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?

– “Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?” The New Leader, December 25, 1950. (A review of The Gentleman and the Jew by Maurice Samuel.)

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)

Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

In Power Begins Curiosity

– “In Power Begins Curiosity,” Partisan Review, no. 3, 1952. (A review of The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr.)

The Indefatigable Fabian

– “The Indefatigable Fabian,” New York Times Book Review, August 24, 1952. (A review of Beatrice Webb's Diaries: 1912-1924, edited by Margaret I. Cole.)

Two Varieties of Democracy

– "Two Varieties of Democracy," Commentary, September 1952.  (A review of The Rise of Totalitarian Democracy by J. L. Talmon.)

Excerpt: An essential defect of Mr. Talmon’s analysis is that he takes the ideology of “totalitarian democracy” as corresponding to an actual fact. In a sense he is deceived by the… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

The Philosophers’ Hidden Truth

– "The Philosophers' Hidden Truth," Commentary, October 1952.  (A review of Persecution and the Art of Writing by Leo Strauss.)

Excerpt: No doubt, there will be scholars who will respectfully dispute Professor Strauss on just about every point. They will find, as many already know, that he is a most formidable… More

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

The Web of Realism

– "The Web of Realism," Commentary, June 1954.  (A review of The Web of Subversion: Underground Networks in the United States Government by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: In The Web of Subversion, Mr. Burnham presents a terse and lucid summary of what has been discovered by various investigating committees about Communist espionage networks in the… More

American Ghosts

– “American Ghosts,” Encounter, July 1954.  (A review of The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow and Brothers to Dragons by R. D. Warner.)

The Judgment of Clio

– “The Judgment of Clio,” Encounter, January 1955.  (A review of Historical Inevitability by Isaiah Berlin.)

The Family Way

– “The Family Way,” Encounter, December 1955.  (A review of Uncommon People by Paul Bloomfield.)

America: Mystery and Mystifications

– “America: Mystery and Mystifications,” Encounter, January 1956.  (A review of American Government by Richard Pear, History of the United States by R. B. Nie and J. E. Mopurgo, The Great Experiment by Frank Thistlethwaite, and The Age of Reform: From Bryan to FDR by Richard Hofstadter.)

Bridge and the Human Condition

– “Bridge and the Human Condition,” Encounter, February 1956.  (A review of Theory of Games as a Tool for the Moral Philosopher by R. B. Braithwaite, Aces All by Guy Ramsey, and Sorry Partner by Paul Sterns.)

The College and the University

– “The College and the University,” Encounter, March 1956.  (A review of The Development of Academic Freedom in the United States by Richard Hofstadter and Walter Metzger.)

The Heterodox Conformist

– “The Heterodox Conformist,” Encounter, April 1956.  (A review of Socialism and the New Despotism by R. H. S. Crossman.)

“…And People Opening Veins in Baths”

– “'...And People Opening Veins in Baths',” Encounter, May 1956.  (A review of Tacitus on Imperial Rome translated by Michael Graves and Tiberius: A Study in Resentment by Gregorio Maranon.)

Excerpt: We have lost the habit of judging tyrants so harshly, for we are more attentive to their historical roles, their “objective” tasks, than to their human meanings. It is the… More

The Rock of Eden

– “The Rock of Eden,” Encounter, June 1956.  (A review of The Dream of Success, by Kenneth S. Lynn, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, and The Exurbanites, by A. C. Spectorsky.)

A Philosophy for Little England

– “A Philosophy for Little England,” Encounter, July 1956.  (A review of Philosophy, Politics, and Society edited by Peter Laslett.)

Socialism without Socialists

– “Socialism without Socialists,” Encounter, August 1956. (A review of Twentieth Century Socialism by Socialist Union.)

Not One World

– "Not One World," Commentary, August 1956.  (A review of American Politics in a Revolutionary World, by Chester Bowles.)

Excerpt: Basically, what Mr. Bowles has done is to follow the honorable 19th-century custom of transplanting the Whig interpretation of history—history as the unfolding story of… More

A Philosophy for Little England?

– “A Philosophy for Little England?” (A reply), Encounter, September 1956.

Europe’s Underground

– “Europe's Underground,” Encounter, September 1956. (A review of Passion and Society by Denis de Rougemont.)

“A Condition of Mere Nature”

– “'A Condition of Mere Nature',” Encounter, October 1956.  (A review of The Anglo-American Tradition in Foreign Affairs edited by Arnold Wolfers and Lawrence W. Martin.)

India to Us

– “India to Us,” Encounter, November 1956.  (A review of Conversations with Mr. Nehru by Tibor Mende.)

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)

Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

The New Forsyte Saga

– “The New Forsyte Saga,” Encounter, December 1956. (A review of How the Soviet System Works by Raymond A. Bauer, et al and  Russia without Stalin by Edward Crankshaw.)

Vox Populi, Vox Dei?

– “Vox Populi, Vox Dei?” Encounter, March 1957.  (A review of Torment of Secrecy by Edward Shils and Freedom or Secrecy by James Russell Wiggins.)

Politics, Sacred and Profane

– “Politics, Sacred and Profane,” Encounter, September 1957.  (A review of Battle for the Mind by William Sargent and Captured in Tibet by Robert Ford.)

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)

Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

Britain’s Change of Life

– “Britain's Change of Life,” The New Leader, October 21, 1957. (A review of They Are the British by Drew Middleton.)

The Essence of Capitalism

– “The Essence of Capitalism,” Encounter, November 1957. (A review of Polity and Economy by Joseph Cropsey.)

“I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic…”

– “'I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic...',” Encounter, December 1957. (A review of The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard.)

American Ambiguities

– “American Ambiguities,” Encounter, January 1958.  (A review of The Jacksonian Persuasion by Marvin Meyers.)

Excerpt: One of the most fruitful of Professor Meyers’ insights is contained in the title. The word “persuasion,” which he defines as “a half-formulated moral perspective… More

The Hidden Persuaders

– “The Hidden Persuaders” (A reply to letters), Encounter, February 1958.

“The Hidden Persuaders”

– “'The Hidden Persuaders'” (Another reply), Encounter, March 1958.

Our Boondoggling Democracy

– "Our Boondoggling Democracy," Commentary, August 1958.  (A review of The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

Excerpt: The Affluent Society is by far the most serious critique of “welfare capitalism” that has been written in the post-Marxian era. (It is perhaps worth remarking that, though Mr.… More

The Shadow of a War

– “The Shadow of a War,” Reporter, February 5, 1959. (A review of Every War but One by Eugene Kinkead.)

Guernica to Hiroshima

– “Guernica to Hiroshima,” Reporter, March 19, 1959.  (A review of The Great Decision by Michael Amrine.)

Toward Pre-Emptive War?

– “Toward Pre-Emptive War?,” Reporter, May 14, 1959.  (A review of War and the Soviet Union by Herbert S. Dinerstein.)

The Conquistadors’ Conscience

– “The Conquistadors' Conscience,” Reporter, September 17, 1959. (A review of Aristotle and the American Indians by Louis Hanke.)

Strange Gods on Capitol Hill

– “Strange Gods on Capitol Hill,” Reporter, November 12, 1959. (A review of Advise and Consent by Allen Drury.)

On the Burning Deck

– “On the Burning Deck,” Reporter, November 26, 1959.  (A review of Up from Liberalism by William F. Buckley, Jr.)

The Masculine Mode

– “The Masculine Mode,” Encounter, December 1959. (A review of The Spare Chancellor: The Life of Walter Bagehot by Alistar Buchan.)

D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett

– "D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett," Commentary, February 1960. (A review of Mark Twain and Southwestern Humor by Kenneth S. Lynn.)

Excerpt: There is nothing quite like American humorous writing in the literature of other nations. Nowhere else is humor so central to the literary tradition, so intimately revealing of the… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Last of the Whigs

– "Last of the Whigs," Commentary, April 1960.  (A review of The Constitution of Liberty, by F.A. Hayek.)

Excerpt: Professor Friederich Hayek, who is usually thought of as a conservative and laisser-fairist, can be more accurately regarded (and clearly defines himself) as the last surviving… More

A Matter of Fundamentals

– “A Matter of Fundamentals,” Encounter, April 1960.  (A review of America the Vincible by Emmet John Hughes and  Beyond Survival by Max Ways.)

Keeping Up with Ourselves

– “Keeping Up with Ourselves,” Yale Review, June 1960. (A review of The End of Ideology by Daniel Bell.)

Excerpt: There is no question that terribly important things have happened to America in recent decades; but “the end of ideology” is not one of them, and Mr. Bell’s title… More

A Treasure for the Future

– "A Treasure for the Future," The New Republic, July 10, 1961. (A review of Between Past and Future:  Six Exercises in Political Thought by Hannah Arendt.)

Excerpt: The subtitle, however, may be misleading. Miss Arendt writes with passion and urgency, and she is a woman of strong political opinions. But she isn’t a political thinker in… More

Democracy and Its Discontents

– “Democracy and Its Discontents,” Harper's, September 1961. (A review of eight books.)

The Idea of Mass Culture

– “The Idea of Mass Culture,” Yale Review, February 1962. (A review of The Political Context of Sociology by Leon Bramson.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The View from Miami

– “The View from Miami,” Encounter, November 1963.  (A review of Great Britain or Little England? by John Mander, A State of England by Anthony Hartley, and The Outsiders: A Liberal View of Britain by James Morris.)

Murder in New Jersey

– “Murder in New Jersey,” New York Review of Books, April 16, 1964. (A review of Doe Day: The Antlerless Deer Controversy in New Jersey by Paul Tillett.)

Excerpt: Paul Tillett’s Doe Day has a far more modest compass, and in it science suffers no such interesting and ironic reversals. But it, too, is enlightening in a way that few works of… More

Mythraking

– “Mythraking,” The New Leader, May 11, 1964. (A review of The End of Alliance by Ronald Steel.)

One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society

– “One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society,” Harper's, March 1966. (A review of Freedom Through Power by William Withers and Reclaiming the American Dream by Richard C. Cornuelle.)

The Pauper Problem

– “The Pauper Problem,” The New Leader, December 5, 1966. (A review of The Poorhouse State by Richard M. Elman and The Despised Poor by Joseph P. Ritz.)

Professor Galbraith’s “New Industrial State”

– “Professor Galbraith's 'New Industrial State',” Fortune, July 1967. (A review of The New Industrial State by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention

– “As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention,” Fortune, September 1967. (A review of Invention and Economic Growth by Jacob Schmookler.)

Common Sense about the Urban Crisis

– “Common Sense about the Urban Crisis,” Fortune, October 1967. (A review of Metropolitan Enigma, United States Chamber of Commerce.)

Who’s in Charge Here?

– “Who's in Charge Here?” Fortune, November 1967. (A review of The Power Structure by Arnold Rose.)

“Iron Mountain” Lies beyond Credibility Gap

– “Iron Mountain Lies beyond Credibility Gap,” Fortune, January 1968. (A review of Report from Iron Mountain edited by Leonard Lewin.)

Men on the Move

– “Men on the Move,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of American Occupational Structure by Otis Dudley Duncan.)

The Strange Death of Liberal Education

– “The Strange Death of Liberal Education,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of Higher Education and Modern Democracy by Robert Goldwin.)

Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant

– “Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant,” Fortune, April 1968. (A review of Management and Machiavelli by Jay Anthony.)

The New Regulators

– “The New Regulators,” Fortune, June 15, 1968. (A review of Report of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Traffic, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

The Don Comes Up Like Thunder

– “The Don Comes Up Like Thunder,” Washington Post, August 25, 1968. (A review of A Runaway World? by Edmund Leach.)

Paying for Protection

– “Paying for Protection,” The New Leader, December 2, 1968. (A review of Varieties of Police Behavior by James Q. Wilson.)

The New Era of Innovation

– “The New Era of Innovation,” Fortune, February 1969. (A review of The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society by Peter Drucker.)

Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite

– “Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite,” Fortune, May 1, 1969. (A review of American Power and the New Mandarins by Noam Chomsky.)

The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis

– “The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis,” Fortune, June 1969. (A review of The Multi-Problem Dilemma by G. E. Brown.)

The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics

– “The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics,” Fortune, July 1969. (A review of An Essay on Liberation by Herbert Marcuse.)

In Search of the Missing Social Indicator

– “In Search of the Missing Social Indicator,” Fortune, August 1969. (A review of Toward a Social Report, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

Barbarians from Within

– “Barbarians from Within,” Fortune, March 1970. (A review of Decline of Radicalism: Reflections on America Today by Daniel Boorstin.)

The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes

– “The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes,” Fortune, June 1970. (A review of The Unheavenly City by Edward C. Banfield.)

History and Human Survival

– "History and Human Survival," New York Times, August 2, 1970. (A review of Essays on the Young And Old, Survivors And the Dead, and on Contemporary Psychohistory by Robert Jay Lifton.)

The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale

– “The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale,” Fortune, August 1971. (A review of Movement Toward a New America by Mitch Gooden.)

Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?

– “Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?” Fortune, November 1971. (A review of News Twister by Mitch Gooden.)

Our Gang and How It Prospered

– “Our Gang and How It Prospered,” Fortune, April 1972. (A review of The Gang and the Establishment by Richard W. Poston.)

I.Q. and a Professor’s Nightmare

– “I.Q. and a Professor's Nightmare,” Fortune, May 1973. (A review of I.Q. and the Meritocracy by Richard J. Herrnstein.)

A College President Discusses America

– “A College President Discusses America,” Fortune, April 1974. (A review of Blue-Collar Journey by John R. Coleman.)

How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses

– “How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses,” Fortune, September 1974. (A review of Anti-Bias Regulations of the University: Faculty Problems and Their Solutions by Richard A. Lester and The Balancing Act by George Roche.)

The High Cost of Equality

– “The High Cost of Equality,” Fortune, November 1975. (A review of Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff by Arthur Okun.)

Urban Utopias vs. the Real World

– “Urban Utopias vs. the Real World,” Fortune, July 1978. (A review of Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century by Robert Fisher.)

A New Look at Capitalism

– “A New Look at Capitalism” (A symposium on Wealth and Poverty by George Gilder), National Review, April 17, 1981.

The Feminist Attack on Smut

– "The Feminist Attack on Smut," The New Republic, July 25, 1981. (A review of Pornography and Silence by Susan Griffin.)

Excerpt: It was utterly predictable that freedom of pornographic speech and action would sooner  or later come into conflict with the women’s movement. Pornography, after all, has… More

The Dubious Science

– “The Dubious Science,” The New Republic, June 6, 1983. (A review of Dangerous Currents: The State of Economics by Lester Thurow.)

Let Europe Be Europe

– “Let Europe Be Europe,” New York Times Book Review, June 10, 1984. (A review of Antipolitics by George Konrad.)

The State of the Union

– “The State of the Union,” The New Republic, October 29, 1984. (A review of The Good News Is the Bad News Is Wrong by Ben Wattenberg.)

A Choice of Blind Alleys

– “A Choice of Blind Alleys,” Times Literary Supplement, November 23, 1984. (A review of Politics and the Pursuit of Happiness by Ghita Ionescu.)

After New Models

– “After New Models,” Times Literary Supplement, December 6, 1985. (A review of The Trouble with America by Michael Crozier.)

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

What Every Soviet Leader Wants

– "What Every Soviet Leader Wants," Fortune, September 1, 1986. (A review of The Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline by Seweryn Bialer.)

Excerpt: What should American policy toward the Soviet Union be? Nobody can answer that question without confronting another: What are Soviet intentions? I am not referring to short-term,… More

Wills’ America: A “Sophisticate” Takes Revenge

– “Wills' America: A 'Sophisticate' Takes Revenge,” Washington Times, February 9, 1987. (A review of Reagan's America by Garry Wills.)

Taking Political Things Personally

– “Taking Political Things Personally,” Times Literary Supplement, March 5, 1991. (A review of The American "Empire" and Other Studies of US Foreign Policy in a Comparative Perspective by Geir Lundestad and US Foreign Policy in the 1990s edited by Greg Schmergel.)

Standing Room Only

– “Standing Room Only,” Times Literary Supplement, July 12, 1991. (A review of American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion by Judith Shklar.)

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Liberties and Licences

– "Liberties and Licences," Times Literary Supplement, July 9, 1998.  (A review of Freedom and Virtue: The Conservative/Libertarian Debate edited by George W. Carey.)

The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009

– New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Foreword: In Memoriam: Irving Kristol, 1920-2009: William Kristol Introduction by Gertrude Himmelfarb   I. IN THE BEGINNING . . . : Enquiry Auden: The Quality of Doubt A Christian… More

Commentary

Auden: The Quality of Doubt

– “Auden: The Quality of Doubt” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, November 1942. (A review of The Double Man by W. H. Auden.)

Excerpt: Auden is certainly one of those “whose works are in better taste than their lives.” His early verse, ideologically viewed, was brashly positive, didactic, clever,… More

A Christian Experiment

– “A Christian Experiment” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, January 1943. (A review of The Seed Beneath the Snow by Ignazio Silone.)

Excerpt: To Thomas Mann’s dictum:  “In our time the destiny of man presents its meaning in political terms,” we may add the observation, drawn from current intellectual… More

James Burnham’s “The Machiavellians”

– “James Burnham's 'The Machiavellians'" (as William Ferry), Enquiry, July 1943. (A review of The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: The atmosphere, these days, contains a good deal more of what is called ‘realism’ than is usually considered desirable for healthy progress. In some measure this is a… More

Review of Dangling Man

– Review of Dangling Man by Saul Bellow, Politics, June 1944.

In Hillel’s Steps

– "In Hillel's Steps," Commentary, February 1947.  (A review of In Darkest Germany by Victor Gollancz.)

Excerpt: In the eyes of the British public, Victor Gollancz is probably one of the outstanding Jewish laymen in the country. When one considers the fact that he is neither especially active… More

Nightmare Come True

– "Nightmare Come True," Commentary, October 1947. (A review of The Other Kingdom by David Rousset, Smoke over Birkenau by Seweryna Szmaglewska, and Beyond the Last Path, by Eugene Weinstock.)

Excerpt: We wish that the men in Buchenwald had acted differently, that there had been more human cooperation and self-sacrifice. But how would we have acted? What would we have done in the… More

How Basic Is “Basic Judaism”?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World

– "How Basic Is 'Basic Judaism'?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World," Commentary, January 1948. (A review of Basic Judaism by Milton Steinberg.)

Excerpt: It is social philosophy that is his talking point, and not religion. Judaism, Rabbi Steinberg finds, has an immanent political doctrine that adds up to “political democracy, to a… More

Christian Theology and the Jews

– "Christian Theology and the Jews," Commentary, April 1948.  (Christianity and the Children of Israel, by A. Roy Eckardt.)

Excerpt: Mr. Eckardt, who is an exponent of “neo-Reformation” Protestant Orthodoxy as preached by Paul Tillich and Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr, has chosen a difficult and delicate… More

Boundaries of Belief

– "Boundaries of Belief," Commentary, March 1949. (A review of The Protestant Era by Paul Tillich.)

Excerpt: These eighteen essays by an outstanding Protestant thinker are so compact and significant that they require extended commentary and criticism. All that can be done in this brief… More

The Slaughter-Bench of History

– "The Slaughter-Bench of History," Commentary, July 1949. (A review of Faith and History by Reinhold Niebuhr and Meaning in History by Karl Lowitz.)

Excerpt: Judaism is tormented by the fact that the Messiah has not come, while the gas chambers have. Christianity is tormented by the fact that the Messiah did come, almost two thousand… More

Elegy for a Lost World

– "Elegy for a Lost World," Commentary, May 1950.  (A review of The Earth Is the Lord's by Abraham Joshua Heschel.)

Excerpt: More important is the fact that Dr. Heschel occasionally succumbs to what can only be called romantic simplification. Poland was not, after all, Paradise, and Eastern Europe cannot… More

American Humanist

– "American Humanist," Commentary, November 1950. (A review of Classics and Commercials and The Little Blue Light by Edmund Wilson.)

Excerpt: “He has a genuine classical taste, he is not often influenced by fads, and he reads, and writes about what he reads, because he honestly enjoys doing so. Literature is for him… More

Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?

– “Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?” The New Leader, December 25, 1950. (A review of The Gentleman and the Jew by Maurice Samuel.)

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)

Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

In Power Begins Curiosity

– “In Power Begins Curiosity,” Partisan Review, no. 3, 1952. (A review of The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr.)

The Indefatigable Fabian

– “The Indefatigable Fabian,” New York Times Book Review, August 24, 1952. (A review of Beatrice Webb's Diaries: 1912-1924, edited by Margaret I. Cole.)

Two Varieties of Democracy

– "Two Varieties of Democracy," Commentary, September 1952.  (A review of The Rise of Totalitarian Democracy by J. L. Talmon.)

Excerpt: An essential defect of Mr. Talmon’s analysis is that he takes the ideology of “totalitarian democracy” as corresponding to an actual fact. In a sense he is deceived by the… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

The Philosophers’ Hidden Truth

– "The Philosophers' Hidden Truth," Commentary, October 1952.  (A review of Persecution and the Art of Writing by Leo Strauss.)

Excerpt: No doubt, there will be scholars who will respectfully dispute Professor Strauss on just about every point. They will find, as many already know, that he is a most formidable… More

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

The Web of Realism

– "The Web of Realism," Commentary, June 1954.  (A review of The Web of Subversion: Underground Networks in the United States Government by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: In The Web of Subversion, Mr. Burnham presents a terse and lucid summary of what has been discovered by various investigating committees about Communist espionage networks in the… More

American Ghosts

– “American Ghosts,” Encounter, July 1954.  (A review of The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow and Brothers to Dragons by R. D. Warner.)

The Judgment of Clio

– “The Judgment of Clio,” Encounter, January 1955.  (A review of Historical Inevitability by Isaiah Berlin.)

The Family Way

– “The Family Way,” Encounter, December 1955.  (A review of Uncommon People by Paul Bloomfield.)

America: Mystery and Mystifications

– “America: Mystery and Mystifications,” Encounter, January 1956.  (A review of American Government by Richard Pear, History of the United States by R. B. Nie and J. E. Mopurgo, The Great Experiment by Frank Thistlethwaite, and The Age of Reform: From Bryan to FDR by Richard Hofstadter.)

Bridge and the Human Condition

– “Bridge and the Human Condition,” Encounter, February 1956.  (A review of Theory of Games as a Tool for the Moral Philosopher by R. B. Braithwaite, Aces All by Guy Ramsey, and Sorry Partner by Paul Sterns.)

The College and the University

– “The College and the University,” Encounter, March 1956.  (A review of The Development of Academic Freedom in the United States by Richard Hofstadter and Walter Metzger.)

The Heterodox Conformist

– “The Heterodox Conformist,” Encounter, April 1956.  (A review of Socialism and the New Despotism by R. H. S. Crossman.)

“…And People Opening Veins in Baths”

– “'...And People Opening Veins in Baths',” Encounter, May 1956.  (A review of Tacitus on Imperial Rome translated by Michael Graves and Tiberius: A Study in Resentment by Gregorio Maranon.)

Excerpt: We have lost the habit of judging tyrants so harshly, for we are more attentive to their historical roles, their “objective” tasks, than to their human meanings. It is the… More

The Rock of Eden

– “The Rock of Eden,” Encounter, June 1956.  (A review of The Dream of Success, by Kenneth S. Lynn, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, and The Exurbanites, by A. C. Spectorsky.)

A Philosophy for Little England

– “A Philosophy for Little England,” Encounter, July 1956.  (A review of Philosophy, Politics, and Society edited by Peter Laslett.)

Socialism without Socialists

– “Socialism without Socialists,” Encounter, August 1956. (A review of Twentieth Century Socialism by Socialist Union.)

Not One World

– "Not One World," Commentary, August 1956.  (A review of American Politics in a Revolutionary World, by Chester Bowles.)

Excerpt: Basically, what Mr. Bowles has done is to follow the honorable 19th-century custom of transplanting the Whig interpretation of history—history as the unfolding story of… More

A Philosophy for Little England?

– “A Philosophy for Little England?” (A reply), Encounter, September 1956.

Europe’s Underground

– “Europe's Underground,” Encounter, September 1956. (A review of Passion and Society by Denis de Rougemont.)

“A Condition of Mere Nature”

– “'A Condition of Mere Nature',” Encounter, October 1956.  (A review of The Anglo-American Tradition in Foreign Affairs edited by Arnold Wolfers and Lawrence W. Martin.)

India to Us

– “India to Us,” Encounter, November 1956.  (A review of Conversations with Mr. Nehru by Tibor Mende.)

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)

Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

The New Forsyte Saga

– “The New Forsyte Saga,” Encounter, December 1956. (A review of How the Soviet System Works by Raymond A. Bauer, et al and  Russia without Stalin by Edward Crankshaw.)

Vox Populi, Vox Dei?

– “Vox Populi, Vox Dei?” Encounter, March 1957.  (A review of Torment of Secrecy by Edward Shils and Freedom or Secrecy by James Russell Wiggins.)

Politics, Sacred and Profane

– “Politics, Sacred and Profane,” Encounter, September 1957.  (A review of Battle for the Mind by William Sargent and Captured in Tibet by Robert Ford.)

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)

Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

Britain’s Change of Life

– “Britain's Change of Life,” The New Leader, October 21, 1957. (A review of They Are the British by Drew Middleton.)

The Essence of Capitalism

– “The Essence of Capitalism,” Encounter, November 1957. (A review of Polity and Economy by Joseph Cropsey.)

“I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic…”

– “'I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic...',” Encounter, December 1957. (A review of The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard.)

American Ambiguities

– “American Ambiguities,” Encounter, January 1958.  (A review of The Jacksonian Persuasion by Marvin Meyers.)

Excerpt: One of the most fruitful of Professor Meyers’ insights is contained in the title. The word “persuasion,” which he defines as “a half-formulated moral perspective… More

The Hidden Persuaders

– “The Hidden Persuaders” (A reply to letters), Encounter, February 1958.

“The Hidden Persuaders”

– “'The Hidden Persuaders'” (Another reply), Encounter, March 1958.

Our Boondoggling Democracy

– "Our Boondoggling Democracy," Commentary, August 1958.  (A review of The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

Excerpt: The Affluent Society is by far the most serious critique of “welfare capitalism” that has been written in the post-Marxian era. (It is perhaps worth remarking that, though Mr.… More

The Shadow of a War

– “The Shadow of a War,” Reporter, February 5, 1959. (A review of Every War but One by Eugene Kinkead.)

Guernica to Hiroshima

– “Guernica to Hiroshima,” Reporter, March 19, 1959.  (A review of The Great Decision by Michael Amrine.)

Toward Pre-Emptive War?

– “Toward Pre-Emptive War?,” Reporter, May 14, 1959.  (A review of War and the Soviet Union by Herbert S. Dinerstein.)

The Conquistadors’ Conscience

– “The Conquistadors' Conscience,” Reporter, September 17, 1959. (A review of Aristotle and the American Indians by Louis Hanke.)

Strange Gods on Capitol Hill

– “Strange Gods on Capitol Hill,” Reporter, November 12, 1959. (A review of Advise and Consent by Allen Drury.)

On the Burning Deck

– “On the Burning Deck,” Reporter, November 26, 1959.  (A review of Up from Liberalism by William F. Buckley, Jr.)

The Masculine Mode

– “The Masculine Mode,” Encounter, December 1959. (A review of The Spare Chancellor: The Life of Walter Bagehot by Alistar Buchan.)

D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett

– "D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett," Commentary, February 1960. (A review of Mark Twain and Southwestern Humor by Kenneth S. Lynn.)

Excerpt: There is nothing quite like American humorous writing in the literature of other nations. Nowhere else is humor so central to the literary tradition, so intimately revealing of the… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Last of the Whigs

– "Last of the Whigs," Commentary, April 1960.  (A review of The Constitution of Liberty, by F.A. Hayek.)

Excerpt: Professor Friederich Hayek, who is usually thought of as a conservative and laisser-fairist, can be more accurately regarded (and clearly defines himself) as the last surviving… More

A Matter of Fundamentals

– “A Matter of Fundamentals,” Encounter, April 1960.  (A review of America the Vincible by Emmet John Hughes and  Beyond Survival by Max Ways.)

Keeping Up with Ourselves

– “Keeping Up with Ourselves,” Yale Review, June 1960. (A review of The End of Ideology by Daniel Bell.)

Excerpt: There is no question that terribly important things have happened to America in recent decades; but “the end of ideology” is not one of them, and Mr. Bell’s title… More

A Treasure for the Future

– "A Treasure for the Future," The New Republic, July 10, 1961. (A review of Between Past and Future:  Six Exercises in Political Thought by Hannah Arendt.)

Excerpt: The subtitle, however, may be misleading. Miss Arendt writes with passion and urgency, and she is a woman of strong political opinions. But she isn’t a political thinker in… More

Democracy and Its Discontents

– “Democracy and Its Discontents,” Harper's, September 1961. (A review of eight books.)

The Idea of Mass Culture

– “The Idea of Mass Culture,” Yale Review, February 1962. (A review of The Political Context of Sociology by Leon Bramson.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The View from Miami

– “The View from Miami,” Encounter, November 1963.  (A review of Great Britain or Little England? by John Mander, A State of England by Anthony Hartley, and The Outsiders: A Liberal View of Britain by James Morris.)

Murder in New Jersey

– “Murder in New Jersey,” New York Review of Books, April 16, 1964. (A review of Doe Day: The Antlerless Deer Controversy in New Jersey by Paul Tillett.)

Excerpt: Paul Tillett’s Doe Day has a far more modest compass, and in it science suffers no such interesting and ironic reversals. But it, too, is enlightening in a way that few works of… More

Mythraking

– “Mythraking,” The New Leader, May 11, 1964. (A review of The End of Alliance by Ronald Steel.)

One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society

– “One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society,” Harper's, March 1966. (A review of Freedom Through Power by William Withers and Reclaiming the American Dream by Richard C. Cornuelle.)

The Pauper Problem

– “The Pauper Problem,” The New Leader, December 5, 1966. (A review of The Poorhouse State by Richard M. Elman and The Despised Poor by Joseph P. Ritz.)

Professor Galbraith’s “New Industrial State”

– “Professor Galbraith's 'New Industrial State',” Fortune, July 1967. (A review of The New Industrial State by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention

– “As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention,” Fortune, September 1967. (A review of Invention and Economic Growth by Jacob Schmookler.)

Common Sense about the Urban Crisis

– “Common Sense about the Urban Crisis,” Fortune, October 1967. (A review of Metropolitan Enigma, United States Chamber of Commerce.)

Who’s in Charge Here?

– “Who's in Charge Here?” Fortune, November 1967. (A review of The Power Structure by Arnold Rose.)

“Iron Mountain” Lies beyond Credibility Gap

– “Iron Mountain Lies beyond Credibility Gap,” Fortune, January 1968. (A review of Report from Iron Mountain edited by Leonard Lewin.)

Men on the Move

– “Men on the Move,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of American Occupational Structure by Otis Dudley Duncan.)

The Strange Death of Liberal Education

– “The Strange Death of Liberal Education,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of Higher Education and Modern Democracy by Robert Goldwin.)

Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant

– “Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant,” Fortune, April 1968. (A review of Management and Machiavelli by Jay Anthony.)

The New Regulators

– “The New Regulators,” Fortune, June 15, 1968. (A review of Report of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Traffic, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

The Don Comes Up Like Thunder

– “The Don Comes Up Like Thunder,” Washington Post, August 25, 1968. (A review of A Runaway World? by Edmund Leach.)

Paying for Protection

– “Paying for Protection,” The New Leader, December 2, 1968. (A review of Varieties of Police Behavior by James Q. Wilson.)

The New Era of Innovation

– “The New Era of Innovation,” Fortune, February 1969. (A review of The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society by Peter Drucker.)

Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite

– “Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite,” Fortune, May 1, 1969. (A review of American Power and the New Mandarins by Noam Chomsky.)

The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis

– “The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis,” Fortune, June 1969. (A review of The Multi-Problem Dilemma by G. E. Brown.)

The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics

– “The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics,” Fortune, July 1969. (A review of An Essay on Liberation by Herbert Marcuse.)

In Search of the Missing Social Indicator

– “In Search of the Missing Social Indicator,” Fortune, August 1969. (A review of Toward a Social Report, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

Barbarians from Within

– “Barbarians from Within,” Fortune, March 1970. (A review of Decline of Radicalism: Reflections on America Today by Daniel Boorstin.)

The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes

– “The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes,” Fortune, June 1970. (A review of The Unheavenly City by Edward C. Banfield.)

History and Human Survival

– "History and Human Survival," New York Times, August 2, 1970. (A review of Essays on the Young And Old, Survivors And the Dead, and on Contemporary Psychohistory by Robert Jay Lifton.)

The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale

– “The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale,” Fortune, August 1971. (A review of Movement Toward a New America by Mitch Gooden.)

Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?

– “Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?” Fortune, November 1971. (A review of News Twister by Mitch Gooden.)

Our Gang and How It Prospered

– “Our Gang and How It Prospered,” Fortune, April 1972. (A review of The Gang and the Establishment by Richard W. Poston.)

I.Q. and a Professor’s Nightmare

– “I.Q. and a Professor's Nightmare,” Fortune, May 1973. (A review of I.Q. and the Meritocracy by Richard J. Herrnstein.)

A College President Discusses America

– “A College President Discusses America,” Fortune, April 1974. (A review of Blue-Collar Journey by John R. Coleman.)

How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses

– “How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses,” Fortune, September 1974. (A review of Anti-Bias Regulations of the University: Faculty Problems and Their Solutions by Richard A. Lester and The Balancing Act by George Roche.)

The High Cost of Equality

– “The High Cost of Equality,” Fortune, November 1975. (A review of Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff by Arthur Okun.)

Urban Utopias vs. the Real World

– “Urban Utopias vs. the Real World,” Fortune, July 1978. (A review of Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century by Robert Fisher.)

A New Look at Capitalism

– “A New Look at Capitalism” (A symposium on Wealth and Poverty by George Gilder), National Review, April 17, 1981.

The Feminist Attack on Smut

– "The Feminist Attack on Smut," The New Republic, July 25, 1981. (A review of Pornography and Silence by Susan Griffin.)

Excerpt: It was utterly predictable that freedom of pornographic speech and action would sooner  or later come into conflict with the women’s movement. Pornography, after all, has… More

The Dubious Science

– “The Dubious Science,” The New Republic, June 6, 1983. (A review of Dangerous Currents: The State of Economics by Lester Thurow.)

Let Europe Be Europe

– “Let Europe Be Europe,” New York Times Book Review, June 10, 1984. (A review of Antipolitics by George Konrad.)

The State of the Union

– “The State of the Union,” The New Republic, October 29, 1984. (A review of The Good News Is the Bad News Is Wrong by Ben Wattenberg.)

A Choice of Blind Alleys

– “A Choice of Blind Alleys,” Times Literary Supplement, November 23, 1984. (A review of Politics and the Pursuit of Happiness by Ghita Ionescu.)

After New Models

– “After New Models,” Times Literary Supplement, December 6, 1985. (A review of The Trouble with America by Michael Crozier.)

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

What Every Soviet Leader Wants

– "What Every Soviet Leader Wants," Fortune, September 1, 1986. (A review of The Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline by Seweryn Bialer.)

Excerpt: What should American policy toward the Soviet Union be? Nobody can answer that question without confronting another: What are Soviet intentions? I am not referring to short-term,… More

Wills’ America: A “Sophisticate” Takes Revenge

– “Wills' America: A 'Sophisticate' Takes Revenge,” Washington Times, February 9, 1987. (A review of Reagan's America by Garry Wills.)

Taking Political Things Personally

– “Taking Political Things Personally,” Times Literary Supplement, March 5, 1991. (A review of The American "Empire" and Other Studies of US Foreign Policy in a Comparative Perspective by Geir Lundestad and US Foreign Policy in the 1990s edited by Greg Schmergel.)

Standing Room Only

– “Standing Room Only,” Times Literary Supplement, July 12, 1991. (A review of American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion by Judith Shklar.)

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Liberties and Licences

– "Liberties and Licences," Times Literary Supplement, July 9, 1998.  (A review of Freedom and Virtue: The Conservative/Libertarian Debate edited by George W. Carey.)

The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009

– New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Foreword: In Memoriam: Irving Kristol, 1920-2009: William Kristol Introduction by Gertrude Himmelfarb   I. IN THE BEGINNING . . . : Enquiry Auden: The Quality of Doubt A Christian… More

Multimedia

Auden: The Quality of Doubt

– “Auden: The Quality of Doubt” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, November 1942. (A review of The Double Man by W. H. Auden.)

Excerpt: Auden is certainly one of those “whose works are in better taste than their lives.” His early verse, ideologically viewed, was brashly positive, didactic, clever,… More

A Christian Experiment

– “A Christian Experiment” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, January 1943. (A review of The Seed Beneath the Snow by Ignazio Silone.)

Excerpt: To Thomas Mann’s dictum:  “In our time the destiny of man presents its meaning in political terms,” we may add the observation, drawn from current intellectual… More

James Burnham’s “The Machiavellians”

– “James Burnham's 'The Machiavellians'" (as William Ferry), Enquiry, July 1943. (A review of The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: The atmosphere, these days, contains a good deal more of what is called ‘realism’ than is usually considered desirable for healthy progress. In some measure this is a… More

Review of Dangling Man

– Review of Dangling Man by Saul Bellow, Politics, June 1944.

In Hillel’s Steps

– "In Hillel's Steps," Commentary, February 1947.  (A review of In Darkest Germany by Victor Gollancz.)

Excerpt: In the eyes of the British public, Victor Gollancz is probably one of the outstanding Jewish laymen in the country. When one considers the fact that he is neither especially active… More

Nightmare Come True

– "Nightmare Come True," Commentary, October 1947. (A review of The Other Kingdom by David Rousset, Smoke over Birkenau by Seweryna Szmaglewska, and Beyond the Last Path, by Eugene Weinstock.)

Excerpt: We wish that the men in Buchenwald had acted differently, that there had been more human cooperation and self-sacrifice. But how would we have acted? What would we have done in the… More

How Basic Is “Basic Judaism”?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World

– "How Basic Is 'Basic Judaism'?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World," Commentary, January 1948. (A review of Basic Judaism by Milton Steinberg.)

Excerpt: It is social philosophy that is his talking point, and not religion. Judaism, Rabbi Steinberg finds, has an immanent political doctrine that adds up to “political democracy, to a… More

Christian Theology and the Jews

– "Christian Theology and the Jews," Commentary, April 1948.  (Christianity and the Children of Israel, by A. Roy Eckardt.)

Excerpt: Mr. Eckardt, who is an exponent of “neo-Reformation” Protestant Orthodoxy as preached by Paul Tillich and Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr, has chosen a difficult and delicate… More

Boundaries of Belief

– "Boundaries of Belief," Commentary, March 1949. (A review of The Protestant Era by Paul Tillich.)

Excerpt: These eighteen essays by an outstanding Protestant thinker are so compact and significant that they require extended commentary and criticism. All that can be done in this brief… More

The Slaughter-Bench of History

– "The Slaughter-Bench of History," Commentary, July 1949. (A review of Faith and History by Reinhold Niebuhr and Meaning in History by Karl Lowitz.)

Excerpt: Judaism is tormented by the fact that the Messiah has not come, while the gas chambers have. Christianity is tormented by the fact that the Messiah did come, almost two thousand… More

Elegy for a Lost World

– "Elegy for a Lost World," Commentary, May 1950.  (A review of The Earth Is the Lord's by Abraham Joshua Heschel.)

Excerpt: More important is the fact that Dr. Heschel occasionally succumbs to what can only be called romantic simplification. Poland was not, after all, Paradise, and Eastern Europe cannot… More

American Humanist

– "American Humanist," Commentary, November 1950. (A review of Classics and Commercials and The Little Blue Light by Edmund Wilson.)

Excerpt: “He has a genuine classical taste, he is not often influenced by fads, and he reads, and writes about what he reads, because he honestly enjoys doing so. Literature is for him… More

Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?

– “Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?” The New Leader, December 25, 1950. (A review of The Gentleman and the Jew by Maurice Samuel.)

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)

Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

In Power Begins Curiosity

– “In Power Begins Curiosity,” Partisan Review, no. 3, 1952. (A review of The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr.)

The Indefatigable Fabian

– “The Indefatigable Fabian,” New York Times Book Review, August 24, 1952. (A review of Beatrice Webb's Diaries: 1912-1924, edited by Margaret I. Cole.)

Two Varieties of Democracy

– "Two Varieties of Democracy," Commentary, September 1952.  (A review of The Rise of Totalitarian Democracy by J. L. Talmon.)

Excerpt: An essential defect of Mr. Talmon’s analysis is that he takes the ideology of “totalitarian democracy” as corresponding to an actual fact. In a sense he is deceived by the… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

The Philosophers’ Hidden Truth

– "The Philosophers' Hidden Truth," Commentary, October 1952.  (A review of Persecution and the Art of Writing by Leo Strauss.)

Excerpt: No doubt, there will be scholars who will respectfully dispute Professor Strauss on just about every point. They will find, as many already know, that he is a most formidable… More

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

The Web of Realism

– "The Web of Realism," Commentary, June 1954.  (A review of The Web of Subversion: Underground Networks in the United States Government by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: In The Web of Subversion, Mr. Burnham presents a terse and lucid summary of what has been discovered by various investigating committees about Communist espionage networks in the… More

American Ghosts

– “American Ghosts,” Encounter, July 1954.  (A review of The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow and Brothers to Dragons by R. D. Warner.)

The Judgment of Clio

– “The Judgment of Clio,” Encounter, January 1955.  (A review of Historical Inevitability by Isaiah Berlin.)

The Family Way

– “The Family Way,” Encounter, December 1955.  (A review of Uncommon People by Paul Bloomfield.)

America: Mystery and Mystifications

– “America: Mystery and Mystifications,” Encounter, January 1956.  (A review of American Government by Richard Pear, History of the United States by R. B. Nie and J. E. Mopurgo, The Great Experiment by Frank Thistlethwaite, and The Age of Reform: From Bryan to FDR by Richard Hofstadter.)

Bridge and the Human Condition

– “Bridge and the Human Condition,” Encounter, February 1956.  (A review of Theory of Games as a Tool for the Moral Philosopher by R. B. Braithwaite, Aces All by Guy Ramsey, and Sorry Partner by Paul Sterns.)

The College and the University

– “The College and the University,” Encounter, March 1956.  (A review of The Development of Academic Freedom in the United States by Richard Hofstadter and Walter Metzger.)

The Heterodox Conformist

– “The Heterodox Conformist,” Encounter, April 1956.  (A review of Socialism and the New Despotism by R. H. S. Crossman.)

“…And People Opening Veins in Baths”

– “'...And People Opening Veins in Baths',” Encounter, May 1956.  (A review of Tacitus on Imperial Rome translated by Michael Graves and Tiberius: A Study in Resentment by Gregorio Maranon.)

Excerpt: We have lost the habit of judging tyrants so harshly, for we are more attentive to their historical roles, their “objective” tasks, than to their human meanings. It is the… More

The Rock of Eden

– “The Rock of Eden,” Encounter, June 1956.  (A review of The Dream of Success, by Kenneth S. Lynn, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, and The Exurbanites, by A. C. Spectorsky.)

A Philosophy for Little England

– “A Philosophy for Little England,” Encounter, July 1956.  (A review of Philosophy, Politics, and Society edited by Peter Laslett.)

Socialism without Socialists

– “Socialism without Socialists,” Encounter, August 1956. (A review of Twentieth Century Socialism by Socialist Union.)

Not One World

– "Not One World," Commentary, August 1956.  (A review of American Politics in a Revolutionary World, by Chester Bowles.)

Excerpt: Basically, what Mr. Bowles has done is to follow the honorable 19th-century custom of transplanting the Whig interpretation of history—history as the unfolding story of… More

A Philosophy for Little England?

– “A Philosophy for Little England?” (A reply), Encounter, September 1956.

Europe’s Underground

– “Europe's Underground,” Encounter, September 1956. (A review of Passion and Society by Denis de Rougemont.)

“A Condition of Mere Nature”

– “'A Condition of Mere Nature',” Encounter, October 1956.  (A review of The Anglo-American Tradition in Foreign Affairs edited by Arnold Wolfers and Lawrence W. Martin.)

India to Us

– “India to Us,” Encounter, November 1956.  (A review of Conversations with Mr. Nehru by Tibor Mende.)

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)

Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

The New Forsyte Saga

– “The New Forsyte Saga,” Encounter, December 1956. (A review of How the Soviet System Works by Raymond A. Bauer, et al and  Russia without Stalin by Edward Crankshaw.)

Vox Populi, Vox Dei?

– “Vox Populi, Vox Dei?” Encounter, March 1957.  (A review of Torment of Secrecy by Edward Shils and Freedom or Secrecy by James Russell Wiggins.)

Politics, Sacred and Profane

– “Politics, Sacred and Profane,” Encounter, September 1957.  (A review of Battle for the Mind by William Sargent and Captured in Tibet by Robert Ford.)

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)

Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

Britain’s Change of Life

– “Britain's Change of Life,” The New Leader, October 21, 1957. (A review of They Are the British by Drew Middleton.)

The Essence of Capitalism

– “The Essence of Capitalism,” Encounter, November 1957. (A review of Polity and Economy by Joseph Cropsey.)

“I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic…”

– “'I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic...',” Encounter, December 1957. (A review of The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard.)

American Ambiguities

– “American Ambiguities,” Encounter, January 1958.  (A review of The Jacksonian Persuasion by Marvin Meyers.)

Excerpt: One of the most fruitful of Professor Meyers’ insights is contained in the title. The word “persuasion,” which he defines as “a half-formulated moral perspective… More

The Hidden Persuaders

– “The Hidden Persuaders” (A reply to letters), Encounter, February 1958.

“The Hidden Persuaders”

– “'The Hidden Persuaders'” (Another reply), Encounter, March 1958.

Our Boondoggling Democracy

– "Our Boondoggling Democracy," Commentary, August 1958.  (A review of The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

Excerpt: The Affluent Society is by far the most serious critique of “welfare capitalism” that has been written in the post-Marxian era. (It is perhaps worth remarking that, though Mr.… More

The Shadow of a War

– “The Shadow of a War,” Reporter, February 5, 1959. (A review of Every War but One by Eugene Kinkead.)

Guernica to Hiroshima

– “Guernica to Hiroshima,” Reporter, March 19, 1959.  (A review of The Great Decision by Michael Amrine.)

Toward Pre-Emptive War?

– “Toward Pre-Emptive War?,” Reporter, May 14, 1959.  (A review of War and the Soviet Union by Herbert S. Dinerstein.)

The Conquistadors’ Conscience

– “The Conquistadors' Conscience,” Reporter, September 17, 1959. (A review of Aristotle and the American Indians by Louis Hanke.)

Strange Gods on Capitol Hill

– “Strange Gods on Capitol Hill,” Reporter, November 12, 1959. (A review of Advise and Consent by Allen Drury.)

On the Burning Deck

– “On the Burning Deck,” Reporter, November 26, 1959.  (A review of Up from Liberalism by William F. Buckley, Jr.)

The Masculine Mode

– “The Masculine Mode,” Encounter, December 1959. (A review of The Spare Chancellor: The Life of Walter Bagehot by Alistar Buchan.)

D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett

– "D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett," Commentary, February 1960. (A review of Mark Twain and Southwestern Humor by Kenneth S. Lynn.)

Excerpt: There is nothing quite like American humorous writing in the literature of other nations. Nowhere else is humor so central to the literary tradition, so intimately revealing of the… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Last of the Whigs

– "Last of the Whigs," Commentary, April 1960.  (A review of The Constitution of Liberty, by F.A. Hayek.)

Excerpt: Professor Friederich Hayek, who is usually thought of as a conservative and laisser-fairist, can be more accurately regarded (and clearly defines himself) as the last surviving… More

A Matter of Fundamentals

– “A Matter of Fundamentals,” Encounter, April 1960.  (A review of America the Vincible by Emmet John Hughes and  Beyond Survival by Max Ways.)

Keeping Up with Ourselves

– “Keeping Up with Ourselves,” Yale Review, June 1960. (A review of The End of Ideology by Daniel Bell.)

Excerpt: There is no question that terribly important things have happened to America in recent decades; but “the end of ideology” is not one of them, and Mr. Bell’s title… More

A Treasure for the Future

– "A Treasure for the Future," The New Republic, July 10, 1961. (A review of Between Past and Future:  Six Exercises in Political Thought by Hannah Arendt.)

Excerpt: The subtitle, however, may be misleading. Miss Arendt writes with passion and urgency, and she is a woman of strong political opinions. But she isn’t a political thinker in… More

Democracy and Its Discontents

– “Democracy and Its Discontents,” Harper's, September 1961. (A review of eight books.)

The Idea of Mass Culture

– “The Idea of Mass Culture,” Yale Review, February 1962. (A review of The Political Context of Sociology by Leon Bramson.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The View from Miami

– “The View from Miami,” Encounter, November 1963.  (A review of Great Britain or Little England? by John Mander, A State of England by Anthony Hartley, and The Outsiders: A Liberal View of Britain by James Morris.)

Murder in New Jersey

– “Murder in New Jersey,” New York Review of Books, April 16, 1964. (A review of Doe Day: The Antlerless Deer Controversy in New Jersey by Paul Tillett.)

Excerpt: Paul Tillett’s Doe Day has a far more modest compass, and in it science suffers no such interesting and ironic reversals. But it, too, is enlightening in a way that few works of… More

Mythraking

– “Mythraking,” The New Leader, May 11, 1964. (A review of The End of Alliance by Ronald Steel.)

One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society

– “One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society,” Harper's, March 1966. (A review of Freedom Through Power by William Withers and Reclaiming the American Dream by Richard C. Cornuelle.)

The Pauper Problem

– “The Pauper Problem,” The New Leader, December 5, 1966. (A review of The Poorhouse State by Richard M. Elman and The Despised Poor by Joseph P. Ritz.)

Professor Galbraith’s “New Industrial State”

– “Professor Galbraith's 'New Industrial State',” Fortune, July 1967. (A review of The New Industrial State by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention

– “As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention,” Fortune, September 1967. (A review of Invention and Economic Growth by Jacob Schmookler.)

Common Sense about the Urban Crisis

– “Common Sense about the Urban Crisis,” Fortune, October 1967. (A review of Metropolitan Enigma, United States Chamber of Commerce.)

Who’s in Charge Here?

– “Who's in Charge Here?” Fortune, November 1967. (A review of The Power Structure by Arnold Rose.)

“Iron Mountain” Lies beyond Credibility Gap

– “Iron Mountain Lies beyond Credibility Gap,” Fortune, January 1968. (A review of Report from Iron Mountain edited by Leonard Lewin.)

Men on the Move

– “Men on the Move,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of American Occupational Structure by Otis Dudley Duncan.)

The Strange Death of Liberal Education

– “The Strange Death of Liberal Education,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of Higher Education and Modern Democracy by Robert Goldwin.)

Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant

– “Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant,” Fortune, April 1968. (A review of Management and Machiavelli by Jay Anthony.)

The New Regulators

– “The New Regulators,” Fortune, June 15, 1968. (A review of Report of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Traffic, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

The Don Comes Up Like Thunder

– “The Don Comes Up Like Thunder,” Washington Post, August 25, 1968. (A review of A Runaway World? by Edmund Leach.)

Paying for Protection

– “Paying for Protection,” The New Leader, December 2, 1968. (A review of Varieties of Police Behavior by James Q. Wilson.)

The New Era of Innovation

– “The New Era of Innovation,” Fortune, February 1969. (A review of The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society by Peter Drucker.)

Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite

– “Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite,” Fortune, May 1, 1969. (A review of American Power and the New Mandarins by Noam Chomsky.)

The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis

– “The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis,” Fortune, June 1969. (A review of The Multi-Problem Dilemma by G. E. Brown.)

The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics

– “The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics,” Fortune, July 1969. (A review of An Essay on Liberation by Herbert Marcuse.)

In Search of the Missing Social Indicator

– “In Search of the Missing Social Indicator,” Fortune, August 1969. (A review of Toward a Social Report, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

Barbarians from Within

– “Barbarians from Within,” Fortune, March 1970. (A review of Decline of Radicalism: Reflections on America Today by Daniel Boorstin.)

The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes

– “The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes,” Fortune, June 1970. (A review of The Unheavenly City by Edward C. Banfield.)

History and Human Survival

– "History and Human Survival," New York Times, August 2, 1970. (A review of Essays on the Young And Old, Survivors And the Dead, and on Contemporary Psychohistory by Robert Jay Lifton.)

The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale

– “The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale,” Fortune, August 1971. (A review of Movement Toward a New America by Mitch Gooden.)

Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?

– “Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?” Fortune, November 1971. (A review of News Twister by Mitch Gooden.)

Our Gang and How It Prospered

– “Our Gang and How It Prospered,” Fortune, April 1972. (A review of The Gang and the Establishment by Richard W. Poston.)

I.Q. and a Professor’s Nightmare

– “I.Q. and a Professor's Nightmare,” Fortune, May 1973. (A review of I.Q. and the Meritocracy by Richard J. Herrnstein.)

A College President Discusses America

– “A College President Discusses America,” Fortune, April 1974. (A review of Blue-Collar Journey by John R. Coleman.)

How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses

– “How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses,” Fortune, September 1974. (A review of Anti-Bias Regulations of the University: Faculty Problems and Their Solutions by Richard A. Lester and The Balancing Act by George Roche.)

The High Cost of Equality

– “The High Cost of Equality,” Fortune, November 1975. (A review of Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff by Arthur Okun.)

Urban Utopias vs. the Real World

– “Urban Utopias vs. the Real World,” Fortune, July 1978. (A review of Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century by Robert Fisher.)

A New Look at Capitalism

– “A New Look at Capitalism” (A symposium on Wealth and Poverty by George Gilder), National Review, April 17, 1981.

The Feminist Attack on Smut

– "The Feminist Attack on Smut," The New Republic, July 25, 1981. (A review of Pornography and Silence by Susan Griffin.)

Excerpt: It was utterly predictable that freedom of pornographic speech and action would sooner  or later come into conflict with the women’s movement. Pornography, after all, has… More

The Dubious Science

– “The Dubious Science,” The New Republic, June 6, 1983. (A review of Dangerous Currents: The State of Economics by Lester Thurow.)

Let Europe Be Europe

– “Let Europe Be Europe,” New York Times Book Review, June 10, 1984. (A review of Antipolitics by George Konrad.)

The State of the Union

– “The State of the Union,” The New Republic, October 29, 1984. (A review of The Good News Is the Bad News Is Wrong by Ben Wattenberg.)

A Choice of Blind Alleys

– “A Choice of Blind Alleys,” Times Literary Supplement, November 23, 1984. (A review of Politics and the Pursuit of Happiness by Ghita Ionescu.)

After New Models

– “After New Models,” Times Literary Supplement, December 6, 1985. (A review of The Trouble with America by Michael Crozier.)

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

What Every Soviet Leader Wants

– "What Every Soviet Leader Wants," Fortune, September 1, 1986. (A review of The Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline by Seweryn Bialer.)

Excerpt: What should American policy toward the Soviet Union be? Nobody can answer that question without confronting another: What are Soviet intentions? I am not referring to short-term,… More

Wills’ America: A “Sophisticate” Takes Revenge

– “Wills' America: A 'Sophisticate' Takes Revenge,” Washington Times, February 9, 1987. (A review of Reagan's America by Garry Wills.)

Taking Political Things Personally

– “Taking Political Things Personally,” Times Literary Supplement, March 5, 1991. (A review of The American "Empire" and Other Studies of US Foreign Policy in a Comparative Perspective by Geir Lundestad and US Foreign Policy in the 1990s edited by Greg Schmergel.)

Standing Room Only

– “Standing Room Only,” Times Literary Supplement, July 12, 1991. (A review of American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion by Judith Shklar.)

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Liberties and Licences

– "Liberties and Licences," Times Literary Supplement, July 9, 1998.  (A review of Freedom and Virtue: The Conservative/Libertarian Debate edited by George W. Carey.)

The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009

– New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Foreword: In Memoriam: Irving Kristol, 1920-2009: William Kristol Introduction by Gertrude Himmelfarb   I. IN THE BEGINNING . . . : Enquiry Auden: The Quality of Doubt A Christian… More

Teaching

Auden: The Quality of Doubt

– “Auden: The Quality of Doubt” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, November 1942. (A review of The Double Man by W. H. Auden.)

Excerpt: Auden is certainly one of those “whose works are in better taste than their lives.” His early verse, ideologically viewed, was brashly positive, didactic, clever,… More

A Christian Experiment

– “A Christian Experiment” (as William Ferry), Enquiry, January 1943. (A review of The Seed Beneath the Snow by Ignazio Silone.)

Excerpt: To Thomas Mann’s dictum:  “In our time the destiny of man presents its meaning in political terms,” we may add the observation, drawn from current intellectual… More

James Burnham’s “The Machiavellians”

– “James Burnham's 'The Machiavellians'" (as William Ferry), Enquiry, July 1943. (A review of The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: The atmosphere, these days, contains a good deal more of what is called ‘realism’ than is usually considered desirable for healthy progress. In some measure this is a… More

Review of Dangling Man

– Review of Dangling Man by Saul Bellow, Politics, June 1944.

In Hillel’s Steps

– "In Hillel's Steps," Commentary, February 1947.  (A review of In Darkest Germany by Victor Gollancz.)

Excerpt: In the eyes of the British public, Victor Gollancz is probably one of the outstanding Jewish laymen in the country. When one considers the fact that he is neither especially active… More

Nightmare Come True

– "Nightmare Come True," Commentary, October 1947. (A review of The Other Kingdom by David Rousset, Smoke over Birkenau by Seweryna Szmaglewska, and Beyond the Last Path, by Eugene Weinstock.)

Excerpt: We wish that the men in Buchenwald had acted differently, that there had been more human cooperation and self-sacrifice. But how would we have acted? What would we have done in the… More

How Basic Is “Basic Judaism”?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World

– "How Basic Is 'Basic Judaism'?: A Comfortable Religion for an Uncomfortable World," Commentary, January 1948. (A review of Basic Judaism by Milton Steinberg.)

Excerpt: It is social philosophy that is his talking point, and not religion. Judaism, Rabbi Steinberg finds, has an immanent political doctrine that adds up to “political democracy, to a… More

Christian Theology and the Jews

– "Christian Theology and the Jews," Commentary, April 1948.  (Christianity and the Children of Israel, by A. Roy Eckardt.)

Excerpt: Mr. Eckardt, who is an exponent of “neo-Reformation” Protestant Orthodoxy as preached by Paul Tillich and Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr, has chosen a difficult and delicate… More

Boundaries of Belief

– "Boundaries of Belief," Commentary, March 1949. (A review of The Protestant Era by Paul Tillich.)

Excerpt: These eighteen essays by an outstanding Protestant thinker are so compact and significant that they require extended commentary and criticism. All that can be done in this brief… More

The Slaughter-Bench of History

– "The Slaughter-Bench of History," Commentary, July 1949. (A review of Faith and History by Reinhold Niebuhr and Meaning in History by Karl Lowitz.)

Excerpt: Judaism is tormented by the fact that the Messiah has not come, while the gas chambers have. Christianity is tormented by the fact that the Messiah did come, almost two thousand… More

Elegy for a Lost World

– "Elegy for a Lost World," Commentary, May 1950.  (A review of The Earth Is the Lord's by Abraham Joshua Heschel.)

Excerpt: More important is the fact that Dr. Heschel occasionally succumbs to what can only be called romantic simplification. Poland was not, after all, Paradise, and Eastern Europe cannot… More

American Humanist

– "American Humanist," Commentary, November 1950. (A review of Classics and Commercials and The Little Blue Light by Edmund Wilson.)

Excerpt: “He has a genuine classical taste, he is not often influenced by fads, and he reads, and writes about what he reads, because he honestly enjoys doing so. Literature is for him… More

Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?

– “Is Western Culture Anti-Semitic?” The New Leader, December 25, 1950. (A review of The Gentleman and the Jew by Maurice Samuel.)

Flying off the Broomstick

– "Flying off the Broomstick," Commentary, April 1951. (A review of Witch Hunt: The Revival of Heresy by Carey McWilliams.)

Excerpt: Perhaps the most important premise is that which sets up a fundamental distinction between the sacred and the profane—the East and the West. The former is beyond human… More

In Power Begins Curiosity

– “In Power Begins Curiosity,” Partisan Review, no. 3, 1952. (A review of The Irony of American History by Reinhold Niebuhr.)

The Indefatigable Fabian

– “The Indefatigable Fabian,” New York Times Book Review, August 24, 1952. (A review of Beatrice Webb's Diaries: 1912-1924, edited by Margaret I. Cole.)

Two Varieties of Democracy

– "Two Varieties of Democracy," Commentary, September 1952.  (A review of The Rise of Totalitarian Democracy by J. L. Talmon.)

Excerpt: An essential defect of Mr. Talmon’s analysis is that he takes the ideology of “totalitarian democracy” as corresponding to an actual fact. In a sense he is deceived by the… More

Ordeal by Mendacity

– “Ordeal by Mendacity,” Twentieth Century, October 1952. (A review of Ordeal by Slander by Owen Lattimore.)

The Philosophers’ Hidden Truth

– "The Philosophers' Hidden Truth," Commentary, October 1952.  (A review of Persecution and the Art of Writing by Leo Strauss.)

Excerpt: No doubt, there will be scholars who will respectfully dispute Professor Strauss on just about every point. They will find, as many already know, that he is a most formidable… More

Koestler: One Who Survived

– “Koestler: One Who Survived,” The New Leader, October 6, 1952. (A review of Arrow in the Blue by Arthur Koestler.)

The Web of Realism

– "The Web of Realism," Commentary, June 1954.  (A review of The Web of Subversion: Underground Networks in the United States Government by James Burnham.)

Excerpt: In The Web of Subversion, Mr. Burnham presents a terse and lucid summary of what has been discovered by various investigating committees about Communist espionage networks in the… More

American Ghosts

– “American Ghosts,” Encounter, July 1954.  (A review of The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow and Brothers to Dragons by R. D. Warner.)

The Judgment of Clio

– “The Judgment of Clio,” Encounter, January 1955.  (A review of Historical Inevitability by Isaiah Berlin.)

The Family Way

– “The Family Way,” Encounter, December 1955.  (A review of Uncommon People by Paul Bloomfield.)

America: Mystery and Mystifications

– “America: Mystery and Mystifications,” Encounter, January 1956.  (A review of American Government by Richard Pear, History of the United States by R. B. Nie and J. E. Mopurgo, The Great Experiment by Frank Thistlethwaite, and The Age of Reform: From Bryan to FDR by Richard Hofstadter.)

Bridge and the Human Condition

– “Bridge and the Human Condition,” Encounter, February 1956.  (A review of Theory of Games as a Tool for the Moral Philosopher by R. B. Braithwaite, Aces All by Guy Ramsey, and Sorry Partner by Paul Sterns.)

The College and the University

– “The College and the University,” Encounter, March 1956.  (A review of The Development of Academic Freedom in the United States by Richard Hofstadter and Walter Metzger.)

The Heterodox Conformist

– “The Heterodox Conformist,” Encounter, April 1956.  (A review of Socialism and the New Despotism by R. H. S. Crossman.)

“…And People Opening Veins in Baths”

– “'...And People Opening Veins in Baths',” Encounter, May 1956.  (A review of Tacitus on Imperial Rome translated by Michael Graves and Tiberius: A Study in Resentment by Gregorio Maranon.)

Excerpt: We have lost the habit of judging tyrants so harshly, for we are more attentive to their historical roles, their “objective” tasks, than to their human meanings. It is the… More

The Rock of Eden

– “The Rock of Eden,” Encounter, June 1956.  (A review of The Dream of Success, by Kenneth S. Lynn, The Man in the Grey Flannel Suit, by Sloan Wilson, and The Exurbanites, by A. C. Spectorsky.)

A Philosophy for Little England

– “A Philosophy for Little England,” Encounter, July 1956.  (A review of Philosophy, Politics, and Society edited by Peter Laslett.)

Socialism without Socialists

– “Socialism without Socialists,” Encounter, August 1956. (A review of Twentieth Century Socialism by Socialist Union.)

Not One World

– "Not One World," Commentary, August 1956.  (A review of American Politics in a Revolutionary World, by Chester Bowles.)

Excerpt: Basically, what Mr. Bowles has done is to follow the honorable 19th-century custom of transplanting the Whig interpretation of history—history as the unfolding story of… More

A Philosophy for Little England?

– “A Philosophy for Little England?” (A reply), Encounter, September 1956.

Europe’s Underground

– “Europe's Underground,” Encounter, September 1956. (A review of Passion and Society by Denis de Rougemont.)

“A Condition of Mere Nature”

– “'A Condition of Mere Nature',” Encounter, October 1956.  (A review of The Anglo-American Tradition in Foreign Affairs edited by Arnold Wolfers and Lawrence W. Martin.)

India to Us

– “India to Us,” Encounter, November 1956.  (A review of Conversations with Mr. Nehru by Tibor Mende.)

Trivia and History

– "Trivia and History," Commentary, December 1956. (A review of The Crucial Decade: America 1945-1955 by Eric F. Goldman.)

Excerpt: Oddly enough, Professor Goldman’s intentions are serious, not to say honorable. He has a thesis: the “crucial decade” witnessed the culmination of a “Half-Century of… More

The New Forsyte Saga

– “The New Forsyte Saga,” Encounter, December 1956. (A review of How the Soviet System Works by Raymond A. Bauer, et al and  Russia without Stalin by Edward Crankshaw.)

Vox Populi, Vox Dei?

– “Vox Populi, Vox Dei?” Encounter, March 1957.  (A review of Torment of Secrecy by Edward Shils and Freedom or Secrecy by James Russell Wiggins.)

Politics, Sacred and Profane

– “Politics, Sacred and Profane,” Encounter, September 1957.  (A review of Battle for the Mind by William Sargent and Captured in Tibet by Robert Ford.)

Class and Sociology: “The Shadow of Marxism”

– "Class and Sociology: 'The Shadow of Marxism'," Commentary, October 1957. (A review of The American Class Structure by Joseph A. Kahl and Social Stratification: A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Process by Bernard Barber.)

Excerpt: Twentieth-Century America is perhaps the most egalitarian society the civilized world has ever seen, yet nowhere has there been so much solemn brooding over “class” as in this… More

Britain’s Change of Life

– “Britain's Change of Life,” The New Leader, October 21, 1957. (A review of They Are the British by Drew Middleton.)

The Essence of Capitalism

– “The Essence of Capitalism,” Encounter, November 1957. (A review of Polity and Economy by Joseph Cropsey.)

“I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic…”

– “'I Dreamed I Stopped Traffic...',” Encounter, December 1957. (A review of The Hidden Persuaders by Vance Packard.)

American Ambiguities

– “American Ambiguities,” Encounter, January 1958.  (A review of The Jacksonian Persuasion by Marvin Meyers.)

Excerpt: One of the most fruitful of Professor Meyers’ insights is contained in the title. The word “persuasion,” which he defines as “a half-formulated moral perspective… More

The Hidden Persuaders

– “The Hidden Persuaders” (A reply to letters), Encounter, February 1958.

“The Hidden Persuaders”

– “'The Hidden Persuaders'” (Another reply), Encounter, March 1958.

Our Boondoggling Democracy

– "Our Boondoggling Democracy," Commentary, August 1958.  (A review of The Affluent Society by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

Excerpt: The Affluent Society is by far the most serious critique of “welfare capitalism” that has been written in the post-Marxian era. (It is perhaps worth remarking that, though Mr.… More

The Shadow of a War

– “The Shadow of a War,” Reporter, February 5, 1959. (A review of Every War but One by Eugene Kinkead.)

Guernica to Hiroshima

– “Guernica to Hiroshima,” Reporter, March 19, 1959.  (A review of The Great Decision by Michael Amrine.)

Toward Pre-Emptive War?

– “Toward Pre-Emptive War?,” Reporter, May 14, 1959.  (A review of War and the Soviet Union by Herbert S. Dinerstein.)

The Conquistadors’ Conscience

– “The Conquistadors' Conscience,” Reporter, September 17, 1959. (A review of Aristotle and the American Indians by Louis Hanke.)

Strange Gods on Capitol Hill

– “Strange Gods on Capitol Hill,” Reporter, November 12, 1959. (A review of Advise and Consent by Allen Drury.)

On the Burning Deck

– “On the Burning Deck,” Reporter, November 26, 1959.  (A review of Up from Liberalism by William F. Buckley, Jr.)

The Masculine Mode

– “The Masculine Mode,” Encounter, December 1959. (A review of The Spare Chancellor: The Life of Walter Bagehot by Alistar Buchan.)

D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett

– "D-a-v-y Da-vy Crockett," Commentary, February 1960. (A review of Mark Twain and Southwestern Humor by Kenneth S. Lynn.)

Excerpt: There is nothing quite like American humorous writing in the literature of other nations. Nowhere else is humor so central to the literary tradition, so intimately revealing of the… More

A Cool Sociological Eye

– “A Cool Sociological Eye,” Reporter, February 4, 1960.  (A review of Political Man: The Social Basis of Politics by Seymour Martin Lipset.)

Last of the Whigs

– "Last of the Whigs," Commentary, April 1960.  (A review of The Constitution of Liberty, by F.A. Hayek.)

Excerpt: Professor Friederich Hayek, who is usually thought of as a conservative and laisser-fairist, can be more accurately regarded (and clearly defines himself) as the last surviving… More

A Matter of Fundamentals

– “A Matter of Fundamentals,” Encounter, April 1960.  (A review of America the Vincible by Emmet John Hughes and  Beyond Survival by Max Ways.)

Keeping Up with Ourselves

– “Keeping Up with Ourselves,” Yale Review, June 1960. (A review of The End of Ideology by Daniel Bell.)

Excerpt: There is no question that terribly important things have happened to America in recent decades; but “the end of ideology” is not one of them, and Mr. Bell’s title… More

A Treasure for the Future

– "A Treasure for the Future," The New Republic, July 10, 1961. (A review of Between Past and Future:  Six Exercises in Political Thought by Hannah Arendt.)

Excerpt: The subtitle, however, may be misleading. Miss Arendt writes with passion and urgency, and she is a woman of strong political opinions. But she isn’t a political thinker in… More

Democracy and Its Discontents

– “Democracy and Its Discontents,” Harper's, September 1961. (A review of eight books.)

The Idea of Mass Culture

– “The Idea of Mass Culture,” Yale Review, February 1962. (A review of The Political Context of Sociology by Leon Bramson.)

Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.

– “Learning to Live with the N.S. & N.,” Encounter, August 1963.  (A review of New Statesmanship by Edward Hyams and The New Statesman by Edward Hyams.)

The View from Miami

– “The View from Miami,” Encounter, November 1963.  (A review of Great Britain or Little England? by John Mander, A State of England by Anthony Hartley, and The Outsiders: A Liberal View of Britain by James Morris.)

Murder in New Jersey

– “Murder in New Jersey,” New York Review of Books, April 16, 1964. (A review of Doe Day: The Antlerless Deer Controversy in New Jersey by Paul Tillett.)

Excerpt: Paul Tillett’s Doe Day has a far more modest compass, and in it science suffers no such interesting and ironic reversals. But it, too, is enlightening in a way that few works of… More

Mythraking

– “Mythraking,” The New Leader, May 11, 1964. (A review of The End of Alliance by Ronald Steel.)

One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society

– “One Utopian, One Sensible Way to Reconcile State and Society,” Harper's, March 1966. (A review of Freedom Through Power by William Withers and Reclaiming the American Dream by Richard C. Cornuelle.)

The Pauper Problem

– “The Pauper Problem,” The New Leader, December 5, 1966. (A review of The Poorhouse State by Richard M. Elman and The Despised Poor by Joseph P. Ritz.)

Professor Galbraith’s “New Industrial State”

– “Professor Galbraith's 'New Industrial State',” Fortune, July 1967. (A review of The New Industrial State by John Kenneth Galbraith.)

As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention

– “As Goes Demand, So Goes Invention,” Fortune, September 1967. (A review of Invention and Economic Growth by Jacob Schmookler.)

Common Sense about the Urban Crisis

– “Common Sense about the Urban Crisis,” Fortune, October 1967. (A review of Metropolitan Enigma, United States Chamber of Commerce.)

Who’s in Charge Here?

– “Who's in Charge Here?” Fortune, November 1967. (A review of The Power Structure by Arnold Rose.)

“Iron Mountain” Lies beyond Credibility Gap

– “Iron Mountain Lies beyond Credibility Gap,” Fortune, January 1968. (A review of Report from Iron Mountain edited by Leonard Lewin.)

Men on the Move

– “Men on the Move,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of American Occupational Structure by Otis Dudley Duncan.)

The Strange Death of Liberal Education

– “The Strange Death of Liberal Education,” Fortune, March 1968. (A review of Higher Education and Modern Democracy by Robert Goldwin.)

Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant

– “Advice for Managers from a Florentine Consultant,” Fortune, April 1968. (A review of Management and Machiavelli by Jay Anthony.)

The New Regulators

– “The New Regulators,” Fortune, June 15, 1968. (A review of Report of the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Traffic, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

The Don Comes Up Like Thunder

– “The Don Comes Up Like Thunder,” Washington Post, August 25, 1968. (A review of A Runaway World? by Edmund Leach.)

Paying for Protection

– “Paying for Protection,” The New Leader, December 2, 1968. (A review of Varieties of Police Behavior by James Q. Wilson.)

The New Era of Innovation

– “The New Era of Innovation,” Fortune, February 1969. (A review of The Age of Discontinuity: Guidelines to Our Changing Society by Peter Drucker.)

Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite

– “Bilious Sermon from a Hero of the Moral Elite,” Fortune, May 1, 1969. (A review of American Power and the New Mandarins by Noam Chomsky.)

The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis

– “The Crisis Behind the Welfare Crisis,” Fortune, June 1969. (A review of The Multi-Problem Dilemma by G. E. Brown.)

The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics

– “The Improbable Guru of Surrealistic Politics,” Fortune, July 1969. (A review of An Essay on Liberation by Herbert Marcuse.)

In Search of the Missing Social Indicator

– “In Search of the Missing Social Indicator,” Fortune, August 1969. (A review of Toward a Social Report, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.)

Barbarians from Within

– “Barbarians from Within,” Fortune, March 1970. (A review of Decline of Radicalism: Reflections on America Today by Daniel Boorstin.)

The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes

– “The Cities: A Tale of Two Classes,” Fortune, June 1970. (A review of The Unheavenly City by Edward C. Banfield.)

History and Human Survival

– "History and Human Survival," New York Times, August 2, 1970. (A review of Essays on the Young And Old, Survivors And the Dead, and on Contemporary Psychohistory by Robert Jay Lifton.)

The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale

– “The Young Are Trying to Tell Us Something about Scarsdale,” Fortune, August 1971. (A review of Movement Toward a New America by Mitch Gooden.)

Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?

– “Does TV News Tell It Like It Is?” Fortune, November 1971. (A review of News Twister by Mitch Gooden.)

Our Gang and How It Prospered

– “Our Gang and How It Prospered,” Fortune, April 1972. (A review of The Gang and the Establishment by Richard W. Poston.)

I.Q. and a Professor’s Nightmare

– “I.Q. and a Professor's Nightmare,” Fortune, May 1973. (A review of I.Q. and the Meritocracy by Richard J. Herrnstein.)

A College President Discusses America

– “A College President Discusses America,” Fortune, April 1974. (A review of Blue-Collar Journey by John R. Coleman.)

How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses

– “How Hiring Quotas Came to the Campuses,” Fortune, September 1974. (A review of Anti-Bias Regulations of the University: Faculty Problems and Their Solutions by Richard A. Lester and The Balancing Act by George Roche.)

The High Cost of Equality

– “The High Cost of Equality,” Fortune, November 1975. (A review of Equality and Efficiency: The Big Tradeoff by Arthur Okun.)

Urban Utopias vs. the Real World

– “Urban Utopias vs. the Real World,” Fortune, July 1978. (A review of Urban Utopias in the Twentieth Century by Robert Fisher.)

A New Look at Capitalism

– “A New Look at Capitalism” (A symposium on Wealth and Poverty by George Gilder), National Review, April 17, 1981.

The Feminist Attack on Smut

– "The Feminist Attack on Smut," The New Republic, July 25, 1981. (A review of Pornography and Silence by Susan Griffin.)

Excerpt: It was utterly predictable that freedom of pornographic speech and action would sooner  or later come into conflict with the women’s movement. Pornography, after all, has… More

The Dubious Science

– “The Dubious Science,” The New Republic, June 6, 1983. (A review of Dangerous Currents: The State of Economics by Lester Thurow.)

Let Europe Be Europe

– “Let Europe Be Europe,” New York Times Book Review, June 10, 1984. (A review of Antipolitics by George Konrad.)

The State of the Union

– “The State of the Union,” The New Republic, October 29, 1984. (A review of The Good News Is the Bad News Is Wrong by Ben Wattenberg.)

A Choice of Blind Alleys

– “A Choice of Blind Alleys,” Times Literary Supplement, November 23, 1984. (A review of Politics and the Pursuit of Happiness by Ghita Ionescu.)

After New Models

– “After New Models,” Times Literary Supplement, December 6, 1985. (A review of The Trouble with America by Michael Crozier.)

New York Intellectuals

– “New York Intellectuals,” Washington Times, April 7, 1986. (A review of Prodigal Sons: The New York Intellectuals and Their World by Alexander Bloom.)

What Every Soviet Leader Wants

– "What Every Soviet Leader Wants," Fortune, September 1, 1986. (A review of The Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline by Seweryn Bialer.)

Excerpt: What should American policy toward the Soviet Union be? Nobody can answer that question without confronting another: What are Soviet intentions? I am not referring to short-term,… More

Wills’ America: A “Sophisticate” Takes Revenge

– “Wills' America: A 'Sophisticate' Takes Revenge,” Washington Times, February 9, 1987. (A review of Reagan's America by Garry Wills.)

Taking Political Things Personally

– “Taking Political Things Personally,” Times Literary Supplement, March 5, 1991. (A review of The American "Empire" and Other Studies of US Foreign Policy in a Comparative Perspective by Geir Lundestad and US Foreign Policy in the 1990s edited by Greg Schmergel.)

Standing Room Only

– “Standing Room Only,” Times Literary Supplement, July 12, 1991. (A review of American Citizenship: The Quest for Inclusion by Judith Shklar.)

Arguing the World

– "Arguing the World" (A documentary), written and directed by Joseph Dorman, January 7, 1998.

Liberties and Licences

– "Liberties and Licences," Times Literary Supplement, July 9, 1998.  (A review of Freedom and Virtue: The Conservative/Libertarian Debate edited by George W. Carey.)

The Neoconservative Persuasion: Selected Essays, 1942-2009

– New York: Basic Books, 2011.

Foreword: In Memoriam: Irving Kristol, 1920-2009: William Kristol Introduction by Gertrude Himmelfarb   I. IN THE BEGINNING . . . : Enquiry Auden: The Quality of Doubt A Christian… More