In case Amazon won’t tell you — you might also like “Anti-Intellectualism in American Life,” by Richard Hofstadter.
I have both books. Both worth reading.
Poor Professor Bloom....
Now, the students he wrote about aren’t even “nice.”
Bloom noticed the early stages of what has turned into the ridiculous state of affairs we now see, with especially the political left having gone astray into great madness (though the political right has also begun to wobble).
What happened was that the entity (the Lord) that had kept the American mind as open as it had been, was increasingly disdained in the spirits of Americans.
It might be tempting to view this as a lament about the loss of “religion” — but religion is as best only a gauge of faith, and can often exist in what is almost the complete absence of it. “A form of religion but denying [refusing] its power.” People may want to LOOK good in church, but are less interested in engaging with the Lord who will PUT more and more of His goodness in those who are willing through a constant, patient, loving teaching process. And people might put us on, but God knows the score, and is saddened at loss of faith.
When people are exalting the Lord in their souls for His blessings understood rightly, that is when He will bless more and more and more. And minds will open again and will understand what is important to understand.
Even more amazing is how prescient Alan Bloom was when he wrote this in 1987. I still have my original copy some where and it is full of dogged pages and underlines.
Speaking of prophets who wrote before their works were appreciated. I also have my original copy of the Jean Raspail’s novel from 1973 called the Camp of the Saints that foretells a world where refugees from poor third world countries begin a movement to Europe via boats that the liberal Europeans cannot or will not stop.
It is creating a new sensation now that the events he envisioned are coming true. You can get it free online at
http://www.freebookdownload.net/ebook/the-camp-of-the-saints
The Path to National Suicide by Lawrence Auster (1990)
An essay on multi-culturalism and immigration.
An interesting point is that Bloom was a student of Leo Strauss. Now many will blame Strauss for neoconism because a couple of neo-cons had taken courses from him. But that is unfair.