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Titus Digest
Dear Ricochetti,
if I may recommend a few essays of mine, out this week.
Pride of place must go to U.S. Grant, whose bicentennial we celebrated, or should have celebrated, on April 22nd. I’m doing my part, first with this essay at L&L, then with a much larger one for Modern Age. I’m an admirer of Grant’s Memoirs, I never tire of reminding people it’s a unique document in American politics–he was a great man & a very good storyteller. He puts to shame the pathetic writers and politicians of our times, but, more importantly, he’s a remarkable guide to why Americans had a civil war and his own education for daring, subjects of great importance today, too.
Next, I recommend this essay for American Mind, on Covid, on cowardice and despotism–American conservatism will soon learn about young men, and the learning will come in baffled fear. But the young men also must learn about America; American Mind is an attempt to deal with both aspects of the problem…
Also, for my friends at the Acton Institute, I review some of the new shows and movies that try and fail to deal with manliness and delay, at least, the death of cinema. This week, I review Ambulance–Michael Bay has invented daring new drone shots and is trying to destroy his career by embracing the silliest, meanest woke ideas you can put into a story. Last week, I reviewed the Michael Mann-produced HBO show Tokyo Vice, which achieves the amazing liberal identity transition whereby Japanese people become evil white men…
Then here’s a half-hour podcast I did for Hillsdale Radio, with my friend Scot Bertram, on Dirty Harry and conservative art. I make the case that we do not honor our artists because we do not understand them and it would take a moral appeal to begin to understand them…
Beyond this, you can find some recent essays here, my series on four films noirs and another on Clint Eastwood!
Finally, for upcoming attractions: Some of you remember the fun conversation I had with Peter Robinson and John Yoo on Master and Commander, the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels more broadly, and our admiration for the British Empire. Well, we’re putting the band back together again to talk TV. We’ll do a podcast on Bosch, which has a new season out on Amazon Prime, and possibly on Better Call Saul, which is about to wrap up!
Published in Culture
I just read your article on Grant and enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing these.
I don’t know if you picked it, but I like the portrait of Grant on the article. It makes him look very human, contemplative, approachable, a bit sad.
If you read a few other Civil War era memoirs before you read Grant’s, you’ll be struck by just how modern Grant’s prose is.
You’ve been busy!
Very good point!
Glad to hear–my pleasure!
Quite! But you know, writing still beats work…
For those who want to hear more of me on Hillsdale Radio–here I am, talking to Scot Bertram about Laura, film noir, & American society, in re my lecture at Hillsdale College.