Whatever Happened to Tradition?

History, Belonging and the Future of the West

By: Tim Stanley

Narrated by: Tim Stanley

Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Bloomsbury presents Whatever Happened to Tradition? by Tim Stanley, read by Tim Stanley.

The West feels lost. Brexit, Trump, the coronavirus: we hurtle from one crisis to another, lacking definition, terrified that our best days are behind us. The central argument of this book is that we can only face the future with hope if we have a proper sense of tradition - political, social and religious. We ignore our past at our peril. The problem, argues Tim Stanley, is that the Western tradition is anti-tradition, that we have a habit of discarding old ways and old knowledge, leaving us uncertain how to act or, even, of who we really are.

In this wide-ranging book, we see how tradition can be both beautiful and useful, from the deserts of Australia to the court of 19th-century Japan. Some of the concepts defended here are highly controversial in the modern West: authority, nostalgia, rejection of self and the hunt for spiritual transcendence. We’ll even meet a tribe who dress up their dead relatives and invite them to tea.

Stanley illustrates how apparently eccentric yet universal principles can nurture the individual from birth to death, plugging them into the wider community and creating a bond between generations. He also demonstrates that tradition, far from being pretentious or rigid, survives through clever adaptation, that it can be surprisingly egalitarian.

The good news, he argues, is that it can also be rebuilt. It’s been done before. The process is fraught with danger, but the ultimate prize of rediscovering tradition is self-knowledge and freedom.

©2021 Tim Stanley (P)2021 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Very good survey of a tricky subject

I thought this book was interesting and insightful. Occasionally the author’s evident desire to be accessible and plain-speaking led to (what I felt were) slight oversimplifications or glibness, but overall I found the book well worth the read.

Time well spent with a fascinating author

I thoroughly enjoyed this- a wealth of insight and anecdote, read in the author’s voice. I especially enjoyed the subtle distinctions he made in reading quotes by a wide range of personalities. A quote from Cardinal Newman was closely followed by a quote from Tolstoy, and each was clearly delineated without exaggeration.

Great book

Very explanatory in all its point and analysis!!
I enjoyed it and learned a lot but most of all it made me reflect on politic and religion! This book is definitely a must read!!!