The Future of the European Past

(Paperback)

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It is no longer news that the history of the European past and its role in shaping American cultural life is under severe attack. In virtually every university that offers a liberal arts curriculum, in every arts institution that deals with European classics, in the offices of every publication that engages in intellectual pursuits, the discussion of the past has become the principal battleground for mapping out the future of our culture. In this provocative and insightful collection of essays first published in The New Criterion, ten distinguished critics reflect on the fate of Europes cultural and political legacy as we approach the turn of the century. On subjects ranging from the collapse of communism and its implications for European society, to the study of the classics, to the prospects for serious music and art, these essays offer analyses marked by wit, independence, and commanding intelligence. The contributors include David Pryce-Jones, Anne Applebaum, Roger Scruton, John Gross, Ferdinand Mount, John Herington, Keith Windschuttle, Mark Steyn, Hilton Kramer, and Roger Kimball. The Future of the European Past is a major contribution to the debate over some of the most pressing cultural issues of our time.

Reviews

The Future of the European Past offers acute insight into the modern decay of the empires of the mind that have for centuries defined Europe. -- Bruce Alan Johnson * American Outlook *
Powerful...Hilton and Kramer take their axes to the roots of the problem. A counterblast to the attacks on the moral and cultural achievements of European civilization. -- George Walden * Times Literary Supplement *
The strength of this book is its usefulness in helping a reader discriminate within a large and unquestionably problematic, but also mixed, field of cultural, political, literary, and artistic situations. -- Colin Walters * The Washington Times *
Cogent and convincing...an articulate and thought-provoking collection. -- Norman Davies * The Wall Street Journal *

Author Bio

Hilton Kramer is editor of The New Criterion and author, most recently, of The Twilight of the Intellectuals. Roger Kimball is managing editor of The New Criterion and author of The Long March, Experiments Against Reality, and Tenured Radicals. Together Messrs. Kramer and Kimball have also edited Against the Grain, The Future of the European Past, and The Betrayal of Liberalism.