America's British Culture (Library of Conservative Thought) [Hardcover]

Russell Kirk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1993 | Series: Library of Conservative Thought

Elegantly written and deeply learned, Americas British Culture is an insightful inquiry into history and a plea for cultural renewal and continuity. Kirk discerns four essential areas of the influence of Great Britain. The language and literature of England carried with it a tradition of liberty and order as well as certain assumptions about the human condition and ethical conduct. American common and positive law, being derived from English law, gives fuller protection to the individual than does the legal system of any other country. The American form of representative government is patterned on the English parliamentary system. Finally, there is the body of mores - moral habits, beliefs, conventions, customs - that compose an ethical heritage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Russell Kirk (1918-1994) was the author of The Conservative Mind; Eliot and His Age; The Roots of American Order; and twenty-six other books in several fields. He was the president of two educational foundations, editor of the quarterly University Bookman, recipient of several literary awards, and visiting distinguished professor on both sides of the Atlantic.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 150 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers (January 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 156000066X
• ISBN-13: 978-1560000662
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,571,188 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Anglo-American Culture, April 4, 2005

By 

Steve Jackson "stevejackson100atyahoocom" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: America's British Culture (Library of Conservative Thought) (Hardcover)

As Russell Kirk notes, less than 20 percent of Americans have British blood, but if you took away all the elements of British culture from America, it wouldn't be America.

In AMERICA'S BRITISH CULTURE, Kirk provides a quick run through of the various influences of British culture on the America. Whether it's the common law, representative government or the immense heritage of English literature, one need only reflect for a moment on how important British culture has been on American life.

This book covers familiar ground and those who have read THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN ORDER probably won't learn all that much. At the same time it is filled with interesting facts and provocative theories. For example, Kirk argues that that America's political institution owes little to the ancient world. It was from their English background that they learned representative government. Once independence was gained, the states carried over their institutions. Connecticut and Rhode Island transformed their Royal charters into constitutions, simply striking out references to the king. This is a familiar theme in Kirk: the American Revolution was essentially conservative.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Look from Kirk on the Ties that Bind, May 8, 2003

By 

W. M. Fusz (Iraq) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America's British Culture (Library of Conservative Thought) (Hardcover)

A short, though not cursory, examination of the British culture that America has inherited and improved on gives the lie to those who claim the US is merely the polyglot combination of a thousand equal influences (if you were taught that the Iroquois gave us democracy, you know what I mean.). Kirk examines four ways in which America carries the torch of British civilization: the English language, the common-law tradition (which could have been better explained), representative government, and the general mores. Good quick read for the Anglosphere fan, but should not be your exclusive resource.