Sunday, March 04, 2007

Bloomsday:

As Andrew Sullivan and R.R. Reno remind us, it's been 20 years since Allan Bloom's The Closing of the American Mind has been published.

A little while ago Karen tagged me with a "thinking" meme. Though not exactly what she asked for, I strongly recommend this book (if one can deal with the abstruse prose). Like all Straussian works, it makes some very controversial claims, and unless one toes the East Coast Straussian line (I certainly don't), no matter what one's political stripe, one will find much with which to disagree here. Yet, there are also shrewd insights into political philosophy and the human condition. Indeed, one can find ammo in this book to support neocon, paleocon, theocon, secularist, libertarian, or even leftist positions.

The book certainly challenges one to think.

1 comment:

Karen McL said...

Well - we LIKE anything that makes one THINK! Ad Hoc Off-the-Cuff Thinking Memes are OK too! *wink*