Are you scratching your head over what to buy the conservative gentleman in your life? Please avoid the “hideous tie so kindly meant,” the slippers, the pipe or another sweater. Choose gifts that are quality even if they are not costly. Choose consumables or treasures that will add value for Christmas and the rest of [...]
The last year or so has been a most propitious time for thoughtful studies of social and political life. In an age when fewer and fewer people read serious books, a gift of a weighty tome serves as a statement and challenge to one’s family and friends. Here are some gifts of permanence that may [...]
On election night, when the returns come in, folks around the country generally look upon the results from New England with a mixture of horror and puzzlement. Even though I have lived in New England most of my life I admit to looking at them in the same way. My feelings have something to do [...]
Terrapin: Poems by Wendell Berry Tom Pohrt illustrates a collection of Wendell Berry poems in a lovely volume, perfect as a gift for young and old alike. Toys From Kaz Woodcraft Real toys made of real wood for real imaginations. Hank Williams, 40 Greatest Hits You cannot know country music without knowing Hank Williams. You also [...]
As we approach Christmas and as The Imaginative Conservative continues to perform the excellent service of suggesting gifts for the grand holiday, I had the chance to talk to one of the most successful and imaginative conservatives in the country, Kevin McCormick. A professional musician, classical guitarist, award-winning poet and composer, father of four daughters, [...]
So I know it is seasonal and traditional to tell our readers what to buy their loved and liked ones for Christmas. The problem with coming up with such a list is that I might disappoint you with how minimal or how banal my reading has been this year. Another is that I might tick [...]
Another Christmas, another dilemma! What to give friends and distant relatives when money is tight? How to give a gift without unnecessary commercialism; or without it escalating into undesired mandatory reciprocity? Fear not, and give the gift of ideas. The following websites are packed with ideas to be welcomed by any Imaginative Conservative or a [...]
When The Imaginative Conservative asked ISI for Christmas gift suggestions, we were delighted to oblige. As Thomas Sowell has written, books make great Christmas presents. With a book you are “giving the gift of wisdom,” and besides, “you do not have to know someone’s measurements to buy a book.” By popular demand, ISI Books has [...]
Imaginative conservatives flee from the mass mind, so you should expect their Christmas gifts to come from parts unknown. They haven’t run just to be different—heaven forbid. Being obsessed with being unprecedented is itself a symptom of the mass mind. Instead imaginative conservatives are always on the lookout for things that are true, good, and [...]
Wonder what to give loved ones for Christmas, especially our fellow Imaginative Conservatives? The Imaginative Conservative's Chief Elf (and respected Assistant Editor), Shelby Tankersley, recommends to contributors, “Book suggestions, leisure activities, and fine cigars would all be of interest to our readers.” So I won’t suggest those because my colleagues might. I’ll try something more subversive, [...]
The Imaginative Conservative contains an embarrassment of riches in many ways. One of them is the offerings each year, from persons more sophisticated and morally rooted than I, of suggestions for appropriate Christmas gifts. But what of those of us who have friends who are not yet true, fully formed imaginative conservatives? Certainly, a gift [...]
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis de Tocqueville came to America in 1831. Though the French aristocrat came for only nine and a half months, his understanding of America and democratic peoples more broadly has never been matched. Most imaginative conservatives have probably read Tocqueville (and may well be some of the nation’s great experts) [...]
While I don’t know much about the techniques of painting, landscapes, and portraiture, I know what I like. And, I very much like—well, love is much more accurate—the art of Anna Rose Bain. Anna left quite an impression on almost everyone after spending four years at Hillsdale. As talented as she is kind and beautiful, [...]
Gifts for imaginative conservatives are bound to be gifts for readers. Keeping that in mind, permit me to suggest some reading tools and accessories as holiday gift ideas. It is no secret that I love Filson. Their American-made bags and coats are among the best, and toughest, you will ever find. Consider Filson’s wool and [...]