Our Culture, What's Left of It: The Mandarins and the Masses

Theodore Dalrymple (Anthony Daniels in real life) has been viewing the bottom of British culture for many years as a psychiatrist and social commentator. As a psychiatrist, Dalrymple practiced in a prison and at a hospital in Birmingham, England. Nearly all his patients are from what can be fairly considered the "lower class" in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries. These are the people who have been destroyed by the well-intentioned,... Read Full Review

Theodore Dalrymple is a top-notch English commentator and a gifted essayist. The articles featured here represent some of his best and most recent writings. The volume is divided into two major sections: arts and letters, and society and politics. He introduces this collection of essays with this line: "The fragility of civilization is one of the great lessons of the twentieth century." The line between civilization and barbarism... Read Full Review

Theodore Dalrymple is widely traveled with an incredible exposure to other cultures. One of his essays concerns the problems of Africa and is the best thing I have read on that sad state of affairs. I am also a physician and have a good acquaintance with city hospitals in America. Things have not got so bad here but some of the trends are not good. My British friends do not believe that it is as bad there as Dalrymple describes... Read Full Review

As soon as I finished reading the preface, I knew I was hooked on this book and its controversial author. British physician/writer, Dr. Theodore Dalrymple is an unapolegetic critic of our post-modern times, offering insight and accusation to the guilt ridden political Left and its allies in the Arts and Academia for their trashing the ethics of restraint and responsibility. Dalrymple has worked many the manmade hells of Africa... Read Full Review

It is difficult to write a review of this book without appearing ridiculously gushing. It contains some of the most profound literary, cultural and political comment that exists, and is rooted in extensive experience as a prison doctor in the UK and elsewhere which most left liberal pundits would avoid like the plague. Extreme independence of mind, sharp observation and deep humanity all combine to produce a truly indispensable... Read Full Review