America's British Culture (Library of Conservative Thought)
“Kirk chronicles the transference of British traditions across the Atlantic not with the xenophobia of stereotypical cultural conservatives but rather with the scrupulous care of a seasoned thinker: Kirk evinces an increasingly uncommon reverence for historical accuracy, academic integrity and the understanding of one’s cultural heritage. . . . [Kirk] succeeds in marshaling the primary arguments against multiculturalism, situating them within a broader understanding of culture, and defining the responsibility incumbent upon individuals to preserve their cultural patrimony.”—Adam DeVore,The Michigan Review“Kirk discusses four main categories in which British culture has been absorbed by the United States in its conception and development. These are the English language and literature; the English system of common law; the American form of representative government based upon the British parliamentary system; and moral beliefs and intellectual disciplines, what Tocqueville calledmores. Each of these areas deeply affected the settlers that first journeyed to North America, and we see their influence upon our founding fathers in their creation of the republic. These British influences are undeniable, and Kirk explains that without them, our nation would not be the success that it has become.”—Robert Paterno,The Dartmouth Review“In a timely new book, America’s British Culture, Russell Kirk, one of our foremost men of letters and editor of theLibrary of Conservative Thoughtseries, points out that contemporary America is a product of the long evolution of law, governmental structure, religion, philosophy and literature of the larger Western world and, more particularly, of Great Britain, through which this Western culture in its British form reached the new world.”—Allan Brownfeld,America’s Future