Book Review, Culture, Russell Kirk

Review of On Being Civilized, by Tracy Lee Simmons

Posted on by Martin Cothran

From the Russell Kirk Center, Darrell Falconburg’s review of Memoria College Press’ On Being Human: A Few Lines Amid the Breakage, by Tracy Lee Simmons.

On Being Civilized

“In our age of modern decadence, the idea of civilization and the possibility of transmitting it to the next generation has been on many minds. What, indeed, is this treasure that we call “civilization?” And for that matter, how can this treasure be conserved and passed down to the next generation?

…The acclaimed author Tracy Lee Simmons has answers to these questions. His new book, On Being Civilized: A Few Lines Amid the Breakage, is a helpful meditation on the definition and features of civilization.

…Taken as a whole, this book is a meditation on the idea of civilization and the role of education in transmitting a civilized life to future generations.”

Read the rest here.

Martin Cothran

Martin Cothran is Provost of Memoria College, editor of The Classical Teacher magazine and author of Memoria Press’ Traditional Logic, Material Logic, and Classical Rhetoric. Martin has taught Latin, Logic, and Rhetoric at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky, and is widely quoted on education and other public policy issues in Reuters News Service, USA Today, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. The Lexington Herald-Leader called him “the master of the thirty-second sound bite,” and the Associated Press has described him as “articulate and relentless.” A frequent guest on Kentucky Educational Television’s “Kentucky Tonight,” a statewide weekly public affairs program.

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