The Soul Resides in the Heart
For Andrea Cesalpino (1524-1603), the soul resides in the heart. All very romantic, but in this edited book about his work, the topic of the heart comes in a chapter…
Ancient Cryptography
This book is a very fine study of the method of sending messages, whether confidential or encrypted, from the very earliest times. Author MartineDiepenbroek (biography below) writes that the “extant…
Ancient Greece and Sir Kenneth Dover
This book looks back on the life and work of the great Classicist, Sir Kenneth Dover. The occasion was the 100th anniversary of his birth: he made it to age…
Commemorating British Politics
Photo: Magna Carta Memorial, Runnymede In Edinburgh there is a very large monument dedicated to Sir Walter Scott. Even a writer in such a noteworthy publication as the London Review…
Vladeck on the Supreme Court
Image: Dr. Stephen Vladeck In his 2023 book The Shadow Docket, University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck explores the underside of Supreme Court rulings, many of which have been…
The Style of Horace
Photo: W. H. Auden The subject of this book on poetry is the alcaic metre. You may be forgiven for not being familiar with it, as it has only rarely…
MILTON: He Shows Us How to be Dauntless
I take the title of my review directly from the text of this book by Stephen Dobranski. As one of the world’s leading experts on John Milton, Dobranski brings his…
Aristotle on Human Nature
Interpreting what Aristotle meant has exercised scholars for centuries. This edited book (written by 14 scholars) looks at one of his densest philosophical forays, his definition of a human being.…
A Theological Debate
One measure of a book for me is whether or not I can reference it in one of my own scientific/historical studies. This book passes that test, as I have…
American Industry in WW II
In opening his address at the Texas Book Festival in Austin, author Craig Nelson invoked the memory of Joseph Stalin. Despite being the personification of evil, he was our ally…