John Strickland (3) (1966–)

Large fan of the podcast 'Paradise and Utopia', and this book is essentially the podcast converted into book form. Unsurprisingly, the book (volume one of four to come) is great as well. A pretty familiar historical narrative for anyone who has studied Christian history is elevated by an insightful cultural analysis. Also ties the lines of development of Christian history, and the rise of 'the West' (distinguishing itself from the Byzantine East) to many of our current cultural ailments in a convincing manner.… (mehr)

Age of Utopia is an excellent historical overview of the West from the Renaissance to the Russian Revolution. That may seem like an exceptionally long period to cover in a single volume, but Fr. Strickland does an exceptional job of tying this all together in the overarching theme of this multi-volume series. These approximately 500 years are correctly designated by him as one governed by a utopian vision.

I have—as yet—not read the previous two volumes in this series (Age of Paradise and Age of Division). However, I have been a faithful subscriber to Fr. Strickland’s podcast “Paradise and Utopia” on Ancient Faith Radio. I certainly believe that reading the previous two volumes would greatly enhance my enjoyment and understanding of this one—and I will certainly be reading them at some point in the future. Nevertheless, I believe this volume is not difficult to understand on its own. I am very familiar with late antiquity and medieval history and somewhat familiar with the history covered in the current volume. Even so, I was surprised by the connections the author was able to make between culture (philosophy, literature, fine arts) and politics (statecraft, wars, revolutions).

I am sure that mean readers will be familiar with some of the artists and authors from their high school or college classes. This book places them in these individuals and works into their proper context, giving them a greater meaning and the reader a better understanding of the texts. I found the section on Romanticism, covering the poets, musicians, artists and their works, to be especially interesting as the philosophy of Romanticism seemed so bereft of any certitude of the transcendent. The tragedy of these lives seems aptly appropriate given the zeitgeist of the current age.

I highly recommend this history to anyone who is interested in a deeper understanding of the several utopian-motivated movements of the modern era. I look forward to reading the previous two volumes and the projected fourth volume.… (mehr)