Living Intelligence

Lives of the Mind: The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse, by Roger Kimball (Ivan R. Dee, 384 pp., $28.95)

I WAS not far into this book when I experienced a totally unexpected emotion. From Roger Kimball, the man aging editor of The New Criterion and distinguished critic of culture, art, and literature, I have come to expect spirit ed writing—full of persuasive analysis, and of wit concentrated in aperçus and crystallized in epigrams. And in this regard, I was certainly not disappointed by Kimball’s new book. What I was un prepared for was the shock of spiritual relief.

About the Author

Jeffrey Hart

Jeffrey Hart is a contributor to National Review.

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Lives of the Mind: The Use and Abuse of Intelligence from Hegel to Wodehouse, by Roger Kimball (Ivan R. Dee, 384 pp., $28.95)

I WAS not far into this book when I experienced a totally unexpected emotion. From Roger Kimball, the man aging editor of The New Criterion and distinguished critic of culture, art, and literature, I have come to expect spirit ed writing—full of persuasive analysis, and of wit concentrated in aperçus and crystallized in epigrams. And in this regard, I was certainly not disappointed by Kimball’s new book. What I was un prepared for was the shock of spiritual relief.