Martha Bayles

Dec 9, 2024 | claremontreviewofbooks.com | Joseph Epstein |William Voegeli |Martha Bayles

Example, an old adage has it, is not proof. But then, apart from mathematics and litigation, proof is not everywhere required, while examples have various uses. “Example is the school of mankind,” wrote Edmund Burke, “and they learn at no other.” In his book Farnsworth’s Classical English Style (2020), Ward Farnsworth holds that “examples show how principles work, and the principles can be adapted to less dramatic settings.

Nov 27, 2024 | claremontreviewofbooks.com | Dan McLaughlin |Ian Johnson |Martha Bayles |Theodore Dalrymple

A life well lived need not follow a single storyline. Lew Lehrman’s life has been well lived in many fields of endeavor, as he acknowledges by entitling his memoir The Sum of It All. It’s a title of many meanings. Lehrman is consumed with sums, both in business and in advocating balanced budgets and sound money. Yet, he takes his inspiration from Winston Churchill’s view of the primacy of history.

Nov 27, 2024 | claremontreviewofbooks.com | Dan McLaughlin |Ian Johnson |Martha Bayles |Theodore Dalrymple

A life well lived need not follow a single storyline. Lew Lehrman’s life has been well lived in many fields of endeavor, as he acknowledges by entitling his memoir The Sum of It All. It’s a title of many meanings. Lehrman is consumed with sums, both in business and in advocating balanced budgets and sound money. Yet, he takes his inspiration from Winston Churchill’s view of the primacy of history.

Nov 26, 2024 | claremontreviewofbooks.com | Martha Bayles

In late June, Braver Angels, a citizens’ movement seeking to mitigate partisan hatred at the grassroots, held its annual convention in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Of the 57,000 Americans who have participated in Braver Angels workshops nationwide, 750 attended the convention. On the first night, June 27, they gathered in the chapel of Carthage College to watch the televised debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Nov 26, 2024 | claremontreviewofbooks.com | Christopher Caldwell |Craig Kennedy |Martha Bayles |William Voegeli

Three days before his sweeping victory this fall, Donald Trump promised a crowd in Salem, Virginia that Election Day 2024 would be the most important day in the history of our country. What are we to make of that statement? On the one hand, it’s nonsense: Had this year’s election taken place in April 1865, it might not even have qualified as runner-up for most important day of the week.