Original writing
Articles in this collection date from 1971 onwards. Nearly all are free to read online, but a handful are behind a paywall.
The meanest flowers that blow Spectator November 2011
American Culture Rides High Forbes November 2011
Moderation in (Almost) All Standpoint October 2011
Who Can Lead Us to Safety? Forbes September 2011
Lessons From The Great Forbes August 2011
Sense and magnanimity Spectator July 2011
When the going got tough Spectator July 2011
Heroic long-suffering Spectator June 2011
The power of a pocket Spectator June 2011
After Strange Gods Standpoint June 2011
Wanted: Global Role Models Forbes June 2011
Debt: A Moral Issue Forbes May 2011
The Moral Logic of Intervention Forbes April 2011
Sins of the fathers Spectator March 2011
Failure of the feminists Spectator March 2011
China’s Secret Weakness Forbes March 2011
In Depth: Paul Johnson C-Span2 BookTV.org February 2011
Dirty rotten scholars Spectator February 2011
The Reign of Spain Standpoint February 2011
Measuring America’s Foes Forbes January 2011
The plum pudding trick Spectator December 2010
St Gilbert of Fleet Street Standpoint December 2010
Wanted: Someone to Trust Forbes November 2010
A race against time Spectator October 2010
God in A British Comeback Forbes October 2010
Labour’s Tory Boy Standpoint October 2010
Welsh wizardry and venom Spectator September 2010
Are Universities Worth It? Forbes August 2010
Is President Obama Anti-British? Forbes July 2011
Not every aspect pleases Spectator June 2010
Moral Fog of War Standpoint June 2010
The English Language and Freedom Forbes May 2010
For true democracy, bring back ostracism Spectator April 2010
Will Asia ever match the cultural magnificence of Europe? Spectator April 2010
Listening and Telling the Truth Forbes April 2010
A dangerous fellow Spectator February 2010
The Sickness of the West Forbes February 2010
Seductive Pursuits Standpoint February 2010
There Is No Keynesian Miracle Forbes February 2010
When dons were still happy to be egregious Spectator January 2010
A seasonal lament Spectator December 2009
Obama’s Prize-Winning Oratory Forbes December 2009
Nothing Noble About Nobel Forbes November 2009
Entrenched Enemies Standpoint October 2009
Looking For A True Conservative Forbes October 2009
A Job Waiting For A Woman? Forbes September 2009
Walking Our Way Out of Recession Forbes September 2009
Surgical Strike? Forbes August 2009
The Skeleton of History Standpoint June 2009
The Corruption of Britain Forbes June 2009
Diary – Of all the popes I have known New Statesman April 2009
Obama Has To Be World Sheriff Forbes April 2009
Richard Strauss: the Bavarian Joker in the Pack Spectator March 2009
Celebrating the Michelangelo of the Maida Vale pub Spectator March 2009
When the ferocious Conchita rode the ring and bulls trembled Spectator March 2009
Good lessons to be learned from the much-despised thirties Spectator March 2009
Lessons For Obama From Britain Forbes March 2009
What the temptations on the high mountain mean today Spectator February 2009
A time for American poets to speak out in warning? Spectator February 2009
Short works of genius that cheer up the writing profession Spectator February 2009
Would Darwin have put atheist slogans on buses? Spectator February 2009
In Business, Simplicity Is Golden Forbes February 2009
The case for simplicity is essentially a moral one Spectator January 2009
What Shakespeare has to say about the crisis Spectator January 2009
A Pantocrat who should be on everyone’s curriculum Spectator January 2009
Are you sophisticated? Here’s how to find out Spectator January 2009
Don’t ‘Invest’ In Art Forbes January 2009
What did they talk about in the Ice Age? The weather, of course Spectator December 2008
Dark days when you had to be polite to bankers Spectator December 2008
A simple explanation for the origins of the universe – and us too Spectator December 2008
Plus ca change in the bustling hurly-burly world of Westbourne Grove Spectator December 2008
When Poets and Chemists Fused Standpoint December 2008
When the leaves fall is the fun time of year for artists Spectator November 2008
Books do furnish a room; overfurnish it too Spectator November 2008
And a large glass of the Inwariable, taken hot Spectator November 2008
There’s plenty of goodies yet in the English word-factory Spectator November 2008
A World In Search Of Leaders Forbes November 2008
What were Gladstone and Disraeli laughing about? Too rude to tell Spectator October 2008
Jane Austen knew all about a banking crisis Spectator October 2008
Michelangelo, old boy, do you think you might… Spectator October 2008
The cartoonist who could make even God the Father laugh Spectator October 2008
From Hadrian to Gordon: sublime to ridiculous Spectator October 2008
The Nonsense of Global Warning Forbes October 2008
Can We Afford Liberalism Now? Forbes October 2008
Stop throwing bricks! You might hit a bishop’s niece Spectator September 2008
Today’s Friday so we must be in Spain Spectator September 2008
Should a widowed mother aged thirteen be a saint? Spectator September 2008
High-pitched buzzing from the booksy boys and girls Spectator September 2008
Should We Fear the Bear? Forbes September 2008
What we really want to know is not on the menu Spectator August 2008
Roasted on a gridiron for the sake of Green pseudo-conscience Spectator August 2008
A leisure class can accommodate the workaholics of wisdom Spectator August 2008
Splendours and miseries of the Queen’s English in the 21st century Spectator August 2008
Let Economies Cure Themselves Forbes August 2008
Getting beneath the skin of the tickling phenomenon Spectator July 2008
Eye-stopping glimpses of an exotic and forbidden world Spectator July 2008
Human beings and pigs have a very peculiar relationship Spectator July 2008
The truth little Red Rum can teach those clever dons Spectator July 2008
A gardener must be a philosopher but never an atheist Spectator July 2008
Parallel Lives National Review Online June 2008
Beware the power lobbies, entangling the great in their entrails Spectator June 2008
How to fill a lecture hall, and how to empty it Spectator June 2008
Don’t ask an African elephant to show you his cardiograms Spectator June 2008
‘Mr Pont, may I introduce you to Miss Austen’ Spectator June 2008
Americans Should Count Their Blessings Forbes June 2008
Things that get into print and make us shudder Spectator May 2008
Heaven may be the perfect library but some on earth come close Spectator May 2008
What kind of pyjamas did President Kennedy wear in bed? Spectator May 2008
Literary woodlice boring needless holes in biographical bedposts Spectator May 2008
The French Revolution New Statesman May 2008
No Asset Like the Special Relationship Forbes May 2008
Glad Bush Is Still Around Forbes May 2008
When the corridors of power echo to the strains of ‘Nil nisi bunkum’ Spectator April 2008
Songs the BBC spoilsports might not let you sing Spectator April 2008
When fine art jostles fashion art off the stage Spectator April 2008
What has that thrush got to sing about, asked Mr Hardy Spectator April 2008
When markets come crashing down, send for the man with the big red nose Spectator April 2008
Why the example of Mary Magdalene is relevant today Spectator March 2008
Quality for dinner. Pass the Fairy Liquid, old boy Spectator March 2008
Was Sir William Joynson-Hicks hair-brained? Spectator March 2008
A golden rail-pass in the fob is a perk worth having Spectator March 2008
The Winner Will Need Brains and Guts Forbes March 2008
Ten perfect poems and one little brown man Spectator February 2008
Fiction as a crutch to get one through life Spectator February 2008
When gobbling brawn is caviar to the general Spectator February 2008
She crucified her enemies and burnt London to the ground. Meet Britain’s first feminist, Boadicea Daily Mail February 2008
Impatience + Greed = Trouble Forbes February 2008
Shakespeare, Neo-Platonism and Princess Diana Spectator January 2008
The Public Enemy, the moll and the squashed grapefruit Spectator January 2008
When words come to life and evoke sounds, smells and images Spectator January 2008
What has sawing a lady in half to do with global warming? Spectator January 2008
A cheer for the quetzal, a sigh for the heron Spectator January 2008
America’s Suez? New Statesman January 2008
Where Industry Has Failed Us Forbes January 2008
Rejoice but remember: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom Spectator December 2007
From Renaissance Florence to Hollywood in only one contrapposto step Spectator December 2007
People who put their trust in human power delude themselves Spectator December 2007
Pursuing Success Is Not Enough Forbes December 2007
In salons for writers, beware giving a black eye to literature Spectator November 2007
Toys that are too good for children and only for the rich Spectator November 2007
A magic moment in the gruesome history of portrait sculpture Spectator November 2007
Courage Needed To Disarm Iran Forbes November 2007
Are famous writers accident prone? Some are Spectator October 2007
Nothing to beat a garden full of wildfowl and historical memories Spectator October 2007
You can admire a roguish old pagan without approving of him Spectator October 2007
They sang ‘Nearer my God to thee’ as the Titanic went down Spectator October 2007
The countryside should be a place of life, not of death Spectator October 2007
Militant Atheism and God Forbes October 2007
Who’s eating my favourite lizards on Lake Como? Spectator September 2007
Don’t despise paper – it’s a central pillar of civilisation Spectator September 2007
What did the Duchess get up to in her wood-and-turf hut? Spectator September 2007
When the skies darken, the glow of gold is always welcome Spectator September 2007
Who Will Say “I Promise To Lay Off?” Forbes September 2007
No Shortage of Good Samaritans Forbes September 2007
Whoever expected writers to be other than difficult people? Spectator August 2007
Visiting cathedrals? Here are England’s top ten Spectator August 2007
Not so much the Mad Hatter, more the Mad Scientist now Spectator August 2007
One last cigarette before the firing squad? Certainly not! Spectator August 2007
Thinking of becoming a cartoonist in today’s Britain? Think again Spectator August 2007
Is the Loch Ness Monster heading for real celebrity? Spectator July 2007
The moral theology of the umbrella stand Spectator July 2007
Not going gentle into the good night Spectator July 2007
And Another Thing Spectator July 2007
Greed Is Safer Than Power-Seeking Forbes July 2007
Why Agatha Christie never made camel soufflé Spectator June 2007
The man who took a PhD in Happiness Science Spectator June 2007
Rubbish, entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics Spectator June 2007
A very parfit gentil knight of music Spectator June 2007
London: Epicenter of Capitalism Forbes June 2007
The young generation prefers to face life with their gloves off Spectator May 2007
Why we don’t know who killed Cock Robin Spectator May 2007
Cultural revolutions come from below, not above Spectator May 2007
Maytime and ‘Some wet, bird-haunted English lawn’ Spectator May 2007
The English: The ‘missing persons’ of Europe Spectator May 2007
Needed: Leaders Of Courage Forbes May 2007
It is the imagination which links man to God Spectator April 2007
There are some people that you are always glad to see Spectator April 2007
Thank God for a wise, truth-telling Pope Spectator April 2007
Tales of ‘Stuffing it’ Austen, ‘Eye-opener’ Dickens and ‘Banana’ Waugh Spectator April 2007
The Menace of the Lobby Forbes April 2007
Benefactors Must Be Hard-Headed Forbes April 2007
Noah and his ark are perennial, and now fashionable too Spectator March 2007
The grace and glory, the exultant euphoria of successful flower painting Spectator March 2007
Technological warfare against mice won’t work. Try cats Spectator March 2007
The little Spaniard and the bearded lady of the Abruzzi Spectator March 2007
What constitutes elegant company in the 21st century? Spectator March 2007
American Idealism and Realpolitik Forbes March 2007
There are worse things than 35ft crocodiles Spectator February 2007
Are we heading, eyes open, to a materialist Hell on Earth? Spectator February 2007
Is this a toasting fork I see before me? Spectator February 2007
Sex, Snobbery and Sadism New Statesman February 2007
The Middle East Situation Is Not Hopeless Forbes February 2007
What Shakespeare thought of death, and New Labour Spectator January 2007
Why the events at Cana went down in history Spectator January 2007
Time raises Longfellow, like Lazarus, from the dead Spectator January 2007
The best thing ever written about music in our language Spectator January 2007
Don’t laugh too loud – the theatre of the world is unsafe Spectator January 2007
Velazquez: the high, the devastating price of snobbery Spectator December 2006
The significance of the order: ‘All hands on deck!’ Spectator December 2006
What happens when you inherit your uncle’s underclothes Spectator December 2006
Space: Our Ticket To Survival Forbes December 2006
When a leading statesman is also a model of decorum Spectator November 2006
A writer plays hookey with a magic paintbox Spectator November 2006
A wood is the one fixed point in a changing world Spectator November 2006
Remember your Latin? Don’t all speak at once! Spectator November 2006
The real message of Frankenstein’s monster for humanity Spectator November 2006
The human race: success or failure? The New Criterion November 2006
As Tom Paine wrote, ‘Every nickname is a title’ Spectator October 2006
Making jokes is hard, and is certainly no laughing matter Spectator October 2006
No wise man, and no great artist, leaves God out Spectator October 2006
Let us now praise famous horses Spectator October 2006
Back to Anarchy New Statesman October 2006
Envy Is Bad Economics Forbes October 2006
Better to Borrow or Lend? Forbes October 2006
The profound mysteries of why we enjoy music Spectator September 2006
Here be monsters, of one kind or another Spectator September 2006
When letters become posthumous suicide notes Spectator September 2006
A county palatine fit for a Queen Spectator September 2006
Don’t Practice Legal Terrorism Forbes September 2006
What great painting is all about Spectator August 2006
One touch of nature makes the whole world a lender Spectator August 2006
Chronological conjunctions, God’s favourite parlour game Spectator August 2006
What did Jane Austen and Bill Clinton have in common? Spectator August 2006
First intimations of the immortality of a 12-year-old in 1940 Spectator August 2006
The genius of verse and song whose life was a Book of Job Spectator July 2006
A summer rhapsody for a pedal-bike Spectator July 2006
Read any good books lately? Not novels, alas Spectator July 2006
The truth about the crooked timbers of humanity is too painful Spectator June 2006
Up North, heaven is eating black puddings to the sound of tubas Spectator June 2006
A professional comedian’s desolate vision of hell Spectator June 2006
The misleading dimensions of persons and lives Spectator June 2006
First Editions Are Not Gold Forbes June 2006
A rich man should not always give his money to the poor Spectator May 2006
The message of a great European cathedral Spectator May 2006
High standards of grub are the norm in West Somerset Spectator May 2006
Space is illusory and time deceitful Spectator May 2006
A man need not be a Byron to get by Spectator May 2006
Dishonesty begins not with the poor but with the powerful Spectator May 2006
Was Washington Right About Parties? Forbes May 2006
A noble lady who showed that virtue is its own reward Spectator April 2006
The age of stout hearts, sharp swords – and fun Spectator April 2006
Let us not be Pontius Pilate and wash our hands Spectator April 2006
Well, and what have you been giving up for Lent? Spectator April 2006
Let’s Have More Babies! Forbes April 2006
Lincoln and the Compensation Culture Forbes April 2006
Don’t put your daughter on the train, Mrs. Worthington Spectator March 2006
Bottle-beauties and the globalised blond beast Spectator March 2006
A.J.P. Taylor: a saturnine star who had intellectuals rolling in the aisles Spectator March 2006
Kindly write on only one side of the paper Spectator March 2006
Who was the most right-wing man in history? Spectator February 2006
Not bad going, to do one imperishable thing in life Spectator February 2006
Did Timothy take Paul’s advice about water? Spectator February 2006
A winter’s day walk in the Quantocks Spectator February 2006
Creators Versus Critics Forbes February 2006
‘Should there be a retiring age for writers?’ Discuss. Spectator January 2006
What I would do if I were a multibillionaire Spectator January 2006
What happened to all that ‘ivy never sere’? Spectator January 2006
Three cheers for life and to hell with the pessimists Spectator January 2006
The Rhino Principle Forbes January 2006
Time for St George to start slaying dragons again Spectator December 2005
Odd man out in the age of ‘celebs’ Spectator December 2005
Things to pray for in this season of Advent Spectator December 2005
Is the former ambassador a shit, a gad or a rat? Spectator November 2005
Are the handshake and cheek-peck on the way out? Spectator November 2005
Answers to the questions the boffins dismiss as meaningless Spectator November 2005
Science can be just as corrupt as any other activity Spectator November 2005
Prayer in the White House Forbes November 2005
Going to market is an education in itself these days Spectator October 2005
Anatomy of a fashionable don in the bad old days Spectator October 2005
A place where poets and painters come to feast on nature Spectator October 2005
Increasingly it is historians who have the answers in science Spectator October 2005
It is right for a religion to echo its primitive origins Spectator October 2005
A Time To Count Our Blessings Forbes October 2005
Not a city of spires but bare ruined choirs Spectator September 2005
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore Spectator September 2005
From Robespierre to Al-Qa’eda: categorical extermination Spectator September 2005
An old German philosopher and the impotence of Europe Spectator September 2005
Look To India Forbes September 2005
The ayatollah of Atheism and Darwin’s altars Spectator August 2005
Wittgenstein and the fatal propensity of politicians to lie Spectator August 2005
The saponaceous opera of newspaper dynasties and villainies Spectator August 2005
The magic moment when you go under the great Forth Bridge Spectator August 2005
Two contrasting occupants of this royal throne of kings Spectator July 2005
Rearranging the shop window of the past Spectator July 2005
An operation for fistula and its creative aftermath Spectator July 2005
The histrionic Jane slipping in and out of the limelight Spectator July 2005
Jaw-jaw is better than war-war – if it’s well-mannered Spectator July 2005
Whatever else you do, don’t miss the bus! Spectator June 2005
It’s Party Time in the gardens of the West End Spectator June 2005
When Wittgenstein and Hitler were whistling schoolboys together Spectator June 2005
When coughing drowns the parson’s saw Spectator June 2005
What Europe Really Needs The Wall Street Journal June 2005
Thoughts on the Existence of God Forbes June 2005
No need for scientists to be dogmatic about the existence, or not, of God Spectator May 2005
What did Lord Cardigan and D.H. Lawrence have in common? Spectator May 2005
Last one to leave the skyscraper, please turn out the lights Spectator May 2005
‘Where’s the ball?’ ‘Out of the ground, sir’ Spectator May 2005
Five Marks of a Great Leader Forbes May 2005
Why beeches are better than other trees in the woods Spectator April 2005
Where the Darwinian fundamentalists are leading us Spectator April 2005
A personal report on mysterious noises from space Spectator April 2005
What is good, and how do we define goodness? Spectator April 2005
Going down to Kew in daffodil time Spectator April 2005
The Philosopher-Pope The Wall Street Journal April 2005
Principled realism: Good For Both Parties Forbes April 2005
No such luck as Death of an Outsourcing Salesman Spectator March 2005
A message of hope from a teeming church in Kensington Spectator March 2005
Trundling Musso’s stolen obelisk back to its African home Spectator March 2005
Brunnhilde was not conjured up in a glass of common gin Spectator March 2005
The UN is For Talk, Not Action Forbes March 2005
A little Anglo-Irish devil who painted like an archangel Spectator February 2005
A word in favour of 7,000 persecuted Chinese bears Spectator February 2005
When copulating, beware falling into Deep Structures Spectator February 2005
The inexorable march of censorship in New Labour Britain Spectator February 2005
Why Millions Say, Softly, God Bless America Forbes February 2005
A cure for melancholy: Parmigianino, Dickens, Schubert Spectator January 2005
Why not stop abusing Prince Harry and start thinking? Spectator January 2005
Why the giant waves were acts of a benevolent God Spectator January 2005
The decline and fall of the femme fatale Spectator January 2005
The angry megalosaurus coming up Holborn Hill Spectator January 2005
Germany’s Dismal Future Forbes January 2005
A Christmas message to New Labour: Give up preaching class hatred Spectator December 2004
Learning with delight the art of having your portrait painted Spectator December 2004
High Stakes National Review October 2004
It’s not what you put in but what you leave out that matters Spectator November 2004
Dirge for the decline and fall of the western intelligentsia Spectator November 2004
English marches on in the age of Bush and Blair Spectator November 2004
Autumn, grand despoiler of beauty, and truth-teller Spectator November 2004
Must The Whole World Speak English? Forbes November 2004
Johnson’s Law of Global Worry Forbes November 2004
Splendours and miseries of the man on the alabaster elephant Spectator October 2004
When Are You Seriously Rich? Forbes October 2004
Will Showbiz and Moneybags Highjack the Election? Forbes September 2004
Want To Prosper? Then be Tolerant Forbes June 2004
Freedom Can Be Made To Work In Russia Forbes May 2004
President Bush and Mr. Micawber Forbes April 2004
Deterrence for the 21st Century Forbes April 2004
Strong, Silent Men Make Good Presidents Forbes March 2004
UN: Get Out Of New York! Forbes February 2004
End of French-Dominated Europe in Sight? Forbes January 2004
America’s New Empire for Liberty Hoover Digest October 2003
Europe’s Utopian Hangover Forbes October 2003
The Long Haul In Iraq Forbes September 2003
Anti-Americanism is Racist Envy Forbes July 2003
The party was her life and soul The Telegraph June 2003
From “the Evil Empire” to “the Empire for Liberty” The New Criterion June 2003
The US, Not The UN, Speaks for Humanity Forbes June 2003
That old-time religion The Telegraph May 2003
Riches Breed Innocence But Not Happiness Forbes April 2003
Five Vital Lessons From Iraq Forbes March 2003
Britain: A Thieves’ Paradise Forbes February 2003
Wanted: A New Breed of American Hero Forbes January 2003
Riding The Arab World of Intellectual Poison Forbes November 2002
Leviathan to the Rescue National Review October 2002
In the Coming Gulf War, President Bush Must Follow The Golden Rules Forbes September 2002
Current Events Forbes August 2002
The Necessity for Christianity Leadership U July 2002
Current Events Forbes June 2002
Ten Reasons For Identifying with America Forbes May 2002
Current Events Forbes April 2002
Putting Too Many Eggs in the China Basket Forbes March 2002
Coming Battle of Words and Reason Forbes November 2001
“Relentlessly and Thoroughly” The only way to respond National Review October 2001
The Clinton-Blair Syndrome: “Sleaze Doesn’t Matter” Forbes April 2001
1968 – The new spectre haunting Europe New Statesman December 1999
Rothbard Revises the History of the Great Depression Ludwig von Mises Institute December 1999
Why Britain Should Join America Forbes April 1999
Obituary – Tom Baistow New Statesman March 1999
Israel: The Miracle Commentary May 1998
Margaret Thatcher Time Magazine April 1998
Catholics in a New Millennium Catholic Herald February 1995
Essay: John Paul II, Kitchen Pope, Warrior Pope Time Magazine December 1994
Anti-Anglo attitudes The New Criterion October 1990
Europe and the Reagan Years Foreign Affairs 1988
Right in their Own Eyes Grace Communion International 1987
Tuchman’s folly The New Criterion May 1984
Oil embargo will benefit U.S. Catholic Herald January 1974
U.S. Wickedness and Chile’s Tragedy Catholic Herald September 1973
Ulster: When will we ever learn? Catholic Herald October 1971
