Backward and upward

The side that is winning the culture wars is the side that is having the most fun. And this lively and elegant anthology strongly suggests that conservatives are having a ball - and that they're terrific writers besides. The pieces collected here show that conservatism is as much about personality as it is about ideology. The wit, acuity, and sheer delight these writers take in slaughtering sacred cows make this collection so appealing that even liberals may find it irresistible. Among the selections: Mark Helprin, admitting (to a class of West Point graduates) that what he did during the war…