Neuhaus and First Things

I liked First Things more before I got it in paper and saw all the ads. The Rule of St. Benedict is not for me.

This month’s issue is full of eulogies for Fr. Neuhaus, may he rest in peace, and is a reminder of the truth that nothing is so wonderful an opportunity for the exercise of charity as eulogies when one is not in an eulogistic mood.

I’ve only read one book of his, the Naked Public Square, which is valuable more for what it represents than for what it says. The book never quite gets anywhere. Based on that, I thought his medium was obviously the proto-blogging he did in his monthly First Things column, where he sparkled.

But Steven Smith reviews the book in the latest First Things and has mixed feelings about it too. Maybe I should give Neuhaus’ other books, more positively reviewed, a try.