Rare Christmans: An Unpublished Essay on Henry Adams
I wrote this brief consideration of Henry Adams in 2021 for The University Bookman, a publication that was then edited by the late Gerald Russello, who had commissioned the piece. Despite having differences with him that are probably as profound as my differences with Adams himself, I liked Gerry, too. He struck me as genuine and sincere, and ravenously curious. Certainly he was very committed to running an unpredictable publication—how else would I have found myself writing twice for the Russell Kirk Society’s publication, an oddity that I refer to once or twice in the piece? When he mentioned on Twitter at some point in 2020 that he was having health troubles, I reached out to say how sorry I was to hear that, and asked if I could pray for anything specific. He asked me to pray for his children—that, if things turned out badly for him, their faith would not be damaged as a result. As I say, a very genuine and sincere man. I continue to say a quick prayer for his kids whenever I think of him.