Intellectual Conservative Politics and Philosophy » George Shadroui

Christopher Hitchens: RIP

George Shadroui — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:39:16 +0000

Hitchens is — sadly — a disappearing breed of intellectual. Hitchens grew up left, moved right on several issues, and wound up belonging to no one. He was least convincing on the one issue he chose to expend most of his dogmatic effort in his final years — his atheism.

I have received [...]

Buckley: William F. Buckley Jr. and the Rise of American Conservatism

George Shadroui — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:43:33 +0000

A review of Professor Carl Bogus' new book. Bogus, a liberal professor, is so intent on his thesis that he misrepresents Buckley's views repeatedly.

A liberal historian who did conservatism the favor of treating its ideas seriously would surely be a good thing. Just as liberalism in the 1950s needed a coherent conservative [...]

Whither the West: Reid Buckley on The Idiocy of Assent

George Shadroui — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:59:43 +0000

In his book, The Idiocy of Assent, Reid Buckley writes with a searing brilliance and anger that on occasion explodes into disgust.

The Idiocy of Assent by Reid Buckley published by P.E.N. Press; First edition (November 22, 2010) Hdbk., 250 pgs. ISBN-10: 0984436820 ISBN-13: 978-0984436828

In his book, The Idiocy [...]

Has the Middle East Berlin Wall fallen?

George Shadroui — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 02:35:36 +0000

Is this a cry for freedom or a cry for a new Caliphate, a longing for days long past when Arabs and Muslims ruled much of the known world?

Reports indicate that protestors, encouraged by the toppling of two autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt, are everywhere gathering in the Middle East — from Algeria [...]

Remembering Joe Sobran

George Shadroui — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 13:01:28 +0000

Joe Sobran was very much of the "republic not an empire" school and he resented, clearly, that the "paleocons" were losing influence to the "neocons."

When I had dinner with Joe Sobran, more than a decade and a half ago, he seemed a melancholy, wounded man. His recent death reminded me of that evening and the controversies [...]

Ill Fares the Land: A Review

George Shadroui — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:46:09 +0000

Tony Judt's latest book, Ill Fares the Land, looks forward — an attempt to dissect the problems facing the West at a time of severe economic uncertainty.

Ill Fares the Land by Tony Judt published by Penguin Press HC (March 18, 2010) Hdbk., 256 pgs. ISBN-10: 1594202761 ISBN-13: 978-1594202766

Let me confess a weakness for [...]

William F. Buckley Jr. and the Conservative Future?

George Shadroui — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:35:03 +0000

Athwart History: Half A Century of Polemics, Animadversions, and Illuminations is the most serious attempt since William F. Buckley's death to document in a systematic way his intellectual allegiances and his stylistic appeal.

Athwart History: Half a Century of Polemics, Animadversions, and Illuminations: A William F. Buckley Jr. Omnibus by William F. Buckley Jr. (Author), Roger [...]

Health Care Hysteria

George Shadroui — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:21:30 +0000

Republicans and conservatives are embarrassing themselves decrying Obama's attempts to defend the health care bill and use it for political gain.

Eric Hobsbawm, the socialist historian, was long-winded in exegesis but pithy in title.

His interesting but highly controversial histories sought to taxonomize complex modern historical forces over the centuries, thus these fun titles: The Age [...]

The Disillusionment of Garry Wills

George Shadroui — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:22:33 +0000

Henry Adams, about whom Garry Wills has written at length, concluded upon observing politics up close that "power is poison." Garry Wills appears to have reached the same conclusion regarding Barack Obama.

A few weeks back, Garry Wills, the renowned historian, published an angry lament in the New York Review of Books blog in which he expressed [...]

A Cracking of the Heart

George Shadroui — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:42:05 +0000

David Horowitz's tribute to Sarah Horowitz is an act of grace, a recognition that however important his own work, it is no more important than the gifts his daughter gave to those around her who could never aspire to brilliance or success or celebrity. A review of A Cracking of the Heart.

A Cracking of the Heart [...]