A book to let you know you''re not alone: the wisdom of the ages can guide us through the struggles of the present. The fate of our civilization depends on whether ordinary people internalize the truth and beauty conveyed in the masterpieces of Western culture. Spencer Klavan, classicist and podcaster, defends that culture and explains why and how we must hand it on to the next generation.- First book for the fans of the “Young Heretics” podcast hosted by author Spencer Klavan (son of Daily Wire celebrity, Andrew Klavan)
- People want to save the west and help win the culture wars, but don’t know how. This survey of the West’s great ideas, drawing from greats like Aquinas and Plato, is also a survival handbook for the 21st century
- The West is in crisis, and ordinary folks feel powerless—but with a little training, regular people can be the most important defenders of all that is good and true in our cultural heritage.
It has been proclaimed many times, but perhaps never more convincingly than now, when every news cycle seems to deliver further confirmation of a world gone mad.
Is this the endgame? Have we come to closing time in the West?
Author Spencer Klavan is a classicist, with a Ph.D. from Oxford, and a deep understanding of the West. His analysis: The situation is dire. But every crisis we face today, we have faced before. And we can surmount each one. Today’s “five essential crises” are:
• The Crisis of Reality: Is there such a thing as objective truth—and even if there is, can “virtual reality” replace it?
• The Crisis of the Body: Not just the “transgender” insanity, but the push for a “transhumanist” future
• The Crisis of Meaning: Evolution—both biological and cultural—is a process of endless replication, of copying. But is there an original model that gives us an aspiration to aim for? Do our lives and actions have meaning?
• The Crisis of Religion: Science has not eliminated man''s religious impulse, but rather misdirected it—and wrongly dismissed the profound philosophical plausibility of Judeo-Christian revelation.
• The Crisis of the Regime: Has America reached a point of inevitable collapse? Republican government was meant to end the destructive cycle of regimes rising and falling—but can it?
Klavan brings to the West’s defense the insights of Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, and the Founding Fathers to show that in the wisdom of the past lies hope for the future. That wisdom can improve our own lives and the lives of those around us—and ultimately save the West.
