Fall 2024

Sincerity and Authenticity, by Lionel Trilling. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 199 pp. The comedian Lenny Bruce occasionally used to open nightclub performances by stating his intention to piss on the audience. “I’m going to piss on you,” he would announce. …

The Passing of the Modern Age, by John Lukacs. New York: Harper & Row. 222 pp. The obsolescence of Western civilization is now widely alleged, and the publication of John Lukacs’s book gives occasion for some reflection on this subject. By …