"It is a great pity that we in the United States do not have our own
Roger Scruton. As his . . . collection of essays reminds us, he is an
accomplished philosopher who writes trenchantly about many important
political, social and religious issues, who cares
passionately about art and culture and who is also a brilliant
conservative polemicist. . . .
"Mr. Scruton has two great virtues as a critic. One is his ability to
combine a delicate appreciation of culture with the robust analytical
skills of a trained philosopher. . . .
"Mr. Scruton's other great virtue is his habit of assessing things from
the inside,
taking them on their own terms. If his judgments are often harsh, one
nevertheless comes away feeling that he has made the best case possible
for his subject. This makes his criticism more devastating yet also more
generous than the criticism of most other commentator." - Roger Kimball,
New York Times Book Review
"Each essay has been constructed with considerable care, and the
positions taken are clearly stated and soundly argued. . . . He shows .
. . that the philosopher-critic is alive and well. . . . Recommended for
all academic libraries." - Library Journal
"[Scruton] writes eloquently of the way in which social bonds, if
refashioned in contractual form. 'become profane, a system of façade, a
Disneyland version of what was formerly
dignified and monumental.'" - Peter Clarke, London Review of Books
