Attended a dinner club last night with special guest <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0670032115/qid=1106316488/sr=1

-4/ref=sr_1_4/102-4689874-1153740?v=glance&s=books”>Donald Kagan, who had illuminating things to say about all sorts of topics, but especially (a) the

Peloponnesian War, and (b) the current condition of elite academia (he teaches at Yale). There was some discussion about how many conservatives there are on the Yale faculty (not counting semi-autonomous outposts like the business school). Someone — Harvey Mansfield, I think — had publicized the number six; Prof. Kagan thought the correct number was three.

I asked Kagan to pass an opinion on Victor Davis Hanson’s book <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0029137519/qid=1106316972/sr=1 -1/ref=sr_1_1/102-4689874-1153740?v=glance&s=books”>The Other Greeks, which I’ve been meaning to read for ages but just haven’t. Prof. Kagan effused such a torrent of praise that VDH, who I suppose was on his farm 3,000 miles away, must have wondered why he was suddenly blushing. “Terrific explanatory power… Improved our understanding by 20,000 times…” Wow. Now I **must** read it.