Gertrude Himmelfarb was on the board of First Things, although she unfortunately left during the controversy over judicial tyranny in the Supreme Court. She is a splendid conservative writer and I am sure this book is worth reading.
The basic argument certainly makes sense. The American revolution got it right; the French revolution was a bloody failure, ending with Napoleon and what amounted to the first of Europe's self-destructive modern civil wars.
As the French revolution demonstrated, reason, unless it is anchored in religious belief and traditional morality, is indistinguishable from madness.
I agree. I think this notion is what led the Founders to use the expression; "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God..". It was the recognition that where reason and religion intersected the greatest good was to be found. It was the light that shown the way for the Founders to discover that men are equal and rights emanate from the Spirit and not the King. It was the human social equivalent to E=MC2.
It's the foundation of the "Moral Values" that voted last November 2nd.
"As the French revolution demonstrated, reason, unless it is anchored in religious belief and traditional morality, is indistinguishable from madness."
Bingo! Well said Cicero. Just got the book and when I read it I will keep this thought in mind