Wise Men Know What Wicked Things Are Written on the Sky

In a series of eleven essays, Kirk relates several issues to a common question: ';Is the American Republic descending into decadence, or are the American people entering upon a renewal of belief and hope?' In doing so, he covers a wide range of subjects that beg answers and action, including ';The American Mission,' ';The Illusion of Human Rights,' ';Prospects for American Education,' and ';Can Virtue be Taught?' Kirk's views are trenchant, well supported, and far from commonplace. For instance, he takes a dim view of today's information age, but is not without hope: ';It is not inevitable that the computer should supplant the poet.'