Reviews and Recommendations
Books on Classical Education

The Best of the Rest

Student Guides to the Major Disciplines from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Introductions to disciplines in the liberal arts, including Liberal Learning, the Core Curriculum, Philosophy, Literature, Economics, Classics, Study of History, U.S. History, American Political Thought, Political Philosophy, Psychology, and the Study of Law. These small books offer a history of the discipline, explains the main ideas of the subject, and points out the most important works in the discipline.

Standing by Words, by Wendell Berry (Washington, DC: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2005). Wendell Berry is committed to making words meaningful and to reminding writers of their responsibility for the words they put on paper. In Standing by Words, Berry articulates his clearest and most profound insights into the meaning, power, and value of words. Lovers of Jayber Crow and Hannah Coulter will enjoy this backstage glimpse at the thought and writing process behind these important works.

The Red Fairy Book, by Andrew Lang, (Dover Publications, 1966).
Here are 37 timeless unadulterated fairy tales from your own childhood (hopefully), and most definitely part of your children’s childhood. Here you’ll read about the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Jack and the Beanstalk, Minnikin, the Twelve Brothers, and many more.
    In his book Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Child’s Moral Imagination, Vigen Guroian explains how fairy tales “capture the meaning of morality through vivid depictions of the struggle between good and evil….” Guroian quotes the great contemporary moral philosopher Alisdair MacIntyre: “It is through hearing about wicked stepmothers, lost children, good but misguided kings, wolves that suckle twin boys, youngest sons who receive no inheritance but must make their own way in the world and eldest sons who waste their inheritance…that children learn or mislearn what a child and what a parent is, what the cast of characters may be in the drama into which they have been born and what the ways of the world are. Deprive children of stories and you leave them unscripted, anxious stutterers in their actions as in their words.”
    The Red Fairy Book is one of the many excellent tools that help cultivate the moral imagination.

Christianity and Classical Culture: A Study of Thought and Action from Augustus to Augustine, by Charles Norris Cochrane, (Liberty Fund, 2003).
This thorough book will guide you through the fall of the pagan Roman world to the rise of Christianity. A great reference book as well. Purchase it from our online Catalogue for $15.

Longing to Know, The Philosophy of Knowledge for Normal People, by Esther Meeks, is about real world knowledge, showing the errors that philosophers can easily fall into when they loose touch with common sense. Visit Christianbook.com to learn more.

The Roots of American Order, written by Russell Kirk and published by ISI Books. For the finest book on the history behind our legal traditions and the ideas behind them, get your hands on this book.  You can purchase this book through ISI at 40% off by clicking on the title.
    Andrew Kern uses this book when he teaches his American history/letters class and says, “I believe the ideas contained in this book are forgotten at our peril. The United States did not drop from heaven or rise from hell in 1776. We sit on a continuum that goes back to the ancient Hebrews, the Greeks, and Romans, and includes the medieval church, the Carolingian Empire, Magna Carta and all its consequences. Russell Kirk puts American history in its context on that continuum and in so doing he reminds us of our duties both to our ancestors and to our descendents. This may be one of the most important history/civics books for an American young person to read.”

Images From a Creation Myth, by Shannon Roquemore. 
Shannon Roquemore was a teacher at Veritas Christian Academy in Asheville, North Carolina until her sad and untimely death in July of 2005.  This book is a deeply moving and remarkably insightful recollection of her spiritual journey. Don’t be surprised if you see a great deal more of it over the years.
    To purchase a copy (and I think this is one of the finest gifts books you could give a person, especially one who thinks about his faith), visit our Catalogue.

Genius, A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds, by Harold Bloom. This book is not written from a Christian perspective, but for those of you who love literature and thought and are ready to grapple with some profoundly insightful essays, this book is a treasure chest. It will also teach a great deal about Gnosticism, which Bloom has described as “America’s civil religion” and which we need to come to understand much better than we do.
     The New York Times Sunday Magazine calls Harold Bloom “A colossus among critics… His enthusiasm for literature is a joyous intoxicant.”

The Compleat Gentleman: The Modern Man’s Guide to Chivalry, by Brad Miner.
If you are a man or have sons, this is one of those books that can meet a profound need. With chapters called The Warrior, The Knight, The Gentleman, The Lover, The Monk, and Chivalry in a Democratic Age, Miner describes the roles and challenges confronted by the man who is not content to conform to the forces around him. It is a wide-ranging book exploring the ideals of manhood throughout western history and dealing with issues like handling a mugging, dying like a man, educating a gentleman, and loving like a knight.

Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin, by Tracy Lee Simmons

On the Incarnation, Athanasius the Great.
This is a great treatise written by the fourth century theologian, Athanasius of Alexandria. Written actually before the Arian heresies, it worked to fight against the Arians, who said that Jesus Christ was divine, but was created and therefore inferior to the Father. This version also includes an introduction by C.S. Lewis, who explains why we should read primary texts, not just books about books. Lewis tells how the simplicity of Athanasius’ writing shows that this text is indeed a masterpiece.

Brother Juniper’s Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor, by Peter Reinhart.
If you've been a CiRCE fan for more than a couple hours, you're sure to have heard us offer various metaphors that help us teach. For instance, gardening, by its very organic nature, is an appropriate metaphor as we seek to cultivate wisdom and virtue in our children. Brother Juniper’s Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor presents another example that will inspire not only your teaching habits, but also your living habits. Peter Reinhart, a master baker who has won awards in numerous bread competitions, explains why a baker cannot cut corners. Kneading by hand is better than by electric mixer. Allowing bread to rise a second time is necessary for proper bread consistency. And no two bread loaves are exactly alike—a loaf of bread from San Francisco could end up completely different from one in Georgia —even if you use the same exact ingredients. Take these lessons to heart, and your teaching will be sure to improve! You'll learn to have patience with your students and to recognize that no two students are identical—each requires careful attention and understanding.
     What's more, if you love to bake, you'll find some of the best recipes within these pages, including recipes for a basic white bread loaf, focaccia, pizza, muffins, the world’s greatest brownies, and the famous sticky buns.

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis.
 Lewis delivered Mere Christianity as a series of radio lectures during World War II. As the Christian world continues to divide itself, creating new denominations and fighting against others, Lewis points out what it is exactly that unites us as Christians.
   If you haven't yet read C.S. Lewis's remarkable book, you've been missing out on one of best lessons in Christian apologetics you'll find. If you have read it, may we suggest you pick it up again this summer?
    Buy a copy, and wear it out.