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Whittaker Chambers: The Spirit of a Counterrevolutionary
What Chambers Can Teach Us
Whittaker Chambers is rightly remembered for his pivotal role in the electrifying Alger Hiss spy case. But as Richard Reinsch reminds us in this volume of the acclaimed Library of Modern Thinkers series, Chambers was more than just a government informant; he was a profoundly important thinker who grappled with the nature of modern man's predicaments.
Whittaker The Spirit of a Counterrevolutionary shows that Chambers's thought posed—and still poses—a challenge to American conservatism and its typical focus on markets and small government. In his journalism, essays, personal correspondence with the likes of William F. Buckley Jr., and landmark autobiographical tome Witness , Chambers engaged more broadly, analyzing the fundamental question of who man is and the classical and spiritual foundations of civilization.
Defying conventional thinking, Reinsch argues that the former Communist spy may have been more right than wrong when he predicted that the West would lose the Cold War. While the Soviets' Communist system did of course collapse, the spiritual and philosophical sickness that Chambers identified, Reinsch suggests, has not been cured.
Whittaker Chambers is rightly remembered for his pivotal role in the electrifying Alger Hiss spy case. But as Richard Reinsch reminds us in this volume of the acclaimed Library of Modern Thinkers series, Chambers was more than just a government informant; he was a profoundly important thinker who grappled with the nature of modern man's predicaments.
Whittaker The Spirit of a Counterrevolutionary shows that Chambers's thought posed—and still poses—a challenge to American conservatism and its typical focus on markets and small government. In his journalism, essays, personal correspondence with the likes of William F. Buckley Jr., and landmark autobiographical tome Witness , Chambers engaged more broadly, analyzing the fundamental question of who man is and the classical and spiritual foundations of civilization.
Defying conventional thinking, Reinsch argues that the former Communist spy may have been more right than wrong when he predicted that the West would lose the Cold War. While the Soviets' Communist system did of course collapse, the spiritual and philosophical sickness that Chambers identified, Reinsch suggests, has not been cured.
- GenresPhilosophy
190 pages, Hardcover
First published July 12, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 31, 2020
5/10.
Thin gruel. The first half of the book is basically a retelling of the middle half of Witness. Analysis is lacking and feels cardboarden at times. Reinsch doesn't do justice to the kaleidoscopic beauty of Witness, but also doesn't make hay of Chambers' less attractive qualities (his abiding egalitarianism, lack of ingroup-centeredness) - now that I think of it, his egalitarianism is never mentioned but is turned in to a defense of organic hierarchy herein.
Thin gruel. The first half of the book is basically a retelling of the middle half of Witness. Analysis is lacking and feels cardboarden at times. Reinsch doesn't do justice to the kaleidoscopic beauty of Witness, but also doesn't make hay of Chambers' less attractive qualities (his abiding egalitarianism, lack of ingroup-centeredness) - now that I think of it, his egalitarianism is never mentioned but is turned in to a defense of organic hierarchy herein.
September 1, 2022
Oh if only Chambers were alive now to offer commentary on today's China. He did say upon his defection from the Communist Party in the late 1930s that he was leaving "the winning side for the losing side." After the USSR's collapse circa 1980 Chambers was posthumously mocked for such a grim declaration. And yet where do things stand today? Time to reassess the Chambers bibliography in light of China's rise. The winning side indeed.
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December 29, 2021
I wanted to like this work, but I’m not sure the author ever figured out what he wanted it to be.
There are occasional nuggets of insight that are wasted between pages and paragraphs of dull and dense observations.
The author needed a better outline, a stronger thesis, and about a dozen more rewrites.
There are occasional nuggets of insight that are wasted between pages and paragraphs of dull and dense observations.
The author needed a better outline, a stronger thesis, and about a dozen more rewrites.
November 29, 2013
One of the narrowest, most closed-minded readings ever!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews