The Postmodern Imagination of Russell Kirk [Hardcover]

Gerald J. Russello (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0826217206 | ISBN-13: 978-0826217202 | Publication Date: June 29, 2007 | Edition: 1

Author of The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk (1918 1994) was a principal architect of the American intellectual conservative movement. This book takes a closer look at his works on such subjects as law, history, economics, and statesmanship to introduce a new generation of readers to the depth and range of his thought. By stressing the importance of Kirk s perception of imagination, Gerald J. Russello offers a new approach to understanding him, showing not only that Kirk laid the groundwork for the new conservatism of the 1950s and 60s, but also that his work evolved into a sophisticated critique of modernity paralleled in the work of some postmodern critics of liberalism. Russello has forged a lively and provocative work that will be a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand Kirk or conservative thought.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Gerald Russello has given us a penetrating analysis of Kirk’s thought, and of the increasingly contested elements of American conservatism. Even more impressive is Russello’s nuanced discussion of the role various forms of human imagination have played in the construction of modernism and its successors. This book itself constitutes an important step toward a redeemed imagination and a full, moral postmodernism.”—Bruce Frohnen, editor of American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia

“In the pantheon of American conservative thinkers, Russell Kirk looms large as a tenacious critic of liberal modernity. In this provocative and illuminating study, Gerald Russello examines the philosophical and moral vision that animated Kirk’s defiant antimodernism. Russello gives us a lucid and perceptive account of Kirk’s carefully crafted traditionalism and of its surprising affinities with much of contemporary postmodernism. In a time of deepening flux across the intellectual landscape, Russello’s volume enlarges our understanding of the complex character of American conservatism.”—George H. Nash, author of The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America since 1945

About the Author

Gerald J. Russello is a Fellow of the Chesterton Institute at Seton Hall University and editor of University Bookman. He is the editor of Christianity and European Culture: Selections from the Work of Christopher Dawson. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: University of Missouri; 1 edition (June 29, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826217206
• ISBN-13: 978-0826217202
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,930,131 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Outstanding Study of One of the 20th Century's Most Important Thinkers, December 26, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Postmodern Imagination of Russell Kirk (Hardcover)

As one of the most important and engaging political thinkers of the last century, Russell Kirk is deserving of much greater and sustained scholarly attention than he has received. Russello's (affiliated scholar, Seton Hall) work is part of a recent trend to correct this longstanding deficiency. The book attempts to critique Kirk's life and writings by examining five aspects of his thought: overall mission; interpretation of history; political life; jurisprudence; and his criticism of modern life (Kirk's "counternarrative"). In terms of mission, Kirk's active engagement with society and politics is detailed; in other words, those who have neglected his work, viewing Kirk as either an advocate of "nostalgia" or a "static version of some ideal past" are introduced to the more engaging potentialities of his achievement. The vital role of tradition and history for Kirk are explored with great clarity and sensitivity, along with Kirk's views of politics and statesmanship, properly understood. The treatment of the interconnection between natural law and American constitutionalism in Kirk's writings also deserves commendation. In this important book, Russello provides a sagacious refutation of the often unreflective criticisms of Kirk, while affirming the vitality of Kirk's thought for contemporary politics.

H. Lee Cheek, Jr., Ph.D.
www.drleecheek.com

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Important Study, January 24, 2008

By 

Lee Cheek "H. Lee Cheek, Jr." (Athens, Alabama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Postmodern Imagination of Russell Kirk (Hardcover)

As one of the most important and engaging political thinkers of the last century, Russell Kirk is deserving of much greater and sustained scholarly attention than he has received. Russello's (affiliated scholar, Seton Hall) work is part of a recent trend to correct this longstanding deficiency. The book attempts to critique Kirk's life and writings by examining five aspects of his thought: overall mission; interpretation of history; political life; jurisprudence; and his criticism of modern life (Kirk's "counternarrative"). In terms of mission, Kirk's active engagement with society and politics is detailed; in other words, those who have neglected his work, viewing Kirk as either an advocate of "nostalgia" or a "static version of some ideal past" are introduced to the more engaging potentialities of his achievement. The vital role of tradition and history for Kirk are explored with great clarity and sensitivity, along with Kirk's views of politics and statesmanship, properly understood. The treatment of the interconnection between natural law and American constitutionalism in Kirk's writings also deserves commendation. In this important book, Russello provides a sagacious refutation of the often unreflective criticisms of Kirk, while affirming the vitality of Kirk's thought for contemporary politics.