title: Neil Peart: Cultural Repercussions: An in-depth examination of the words, ideas, and professional life of Neil Peart, man of letters.
author:  Bradley J. Birzer 
description: Birzer holds the Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and is Professor of History at Hillsdale College, Michigan. He proudly serves on the boards of the Free Enterprise Institute and The Center for Cultural Renewal. He is also a Fellow and/or Scholar with the Foundation for Economic Education, Intercollegiate Studies Institute, The McConnell Center for Public Policy, the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal, and the Center for Economic Personalism (Brazil). In 2010, he co-founded The Imaginative Conservative website, and, in 2012, he co-founded Progarchy.com, a site dedicated to the exploration of music in all of its various forms. He also writes for Ignatius Insight, Catholic World Report, CatholicVote, and his personal website, Stormfields. In 1990, he earned my B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and, in 1998, he earned my PhD from Indiana University. He and his wife (Dedra) and have seven children and two cats. For the 2014-2015 school year, Birzer held the positions of Scholar in Residence and Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy, University of Colorado-Boulder. Birzer cherishes human liberty and dignity; baking; cooking; playing Legos with his kids; hiking and backpacking; good writing; Great Books and Great Ideas; western civilization; science fiction; Panera bagels; Apple products; and progressive rock and progressive jazz.
zlib_text: Book Description
  
  
  Though Neil Peart is universally acknowledged as one of the greatest living
  drummers, few studies have been devoted to his writings. Yet, Peart is very
  much a man of his words. He writes lyrics, travelogues, short stories, essays,
  and books of cultural criticism. In terms of his cultural impact, he is also
  one of North America’s greatest living men of letters. The themes he offers in
  his writings are timeless: philosophy, journeys, growth, exploration,
  excellence, art, satisfaction, happiness, religion, politics, individualism,
  expression, natural history, cultural criticism, life, love, loss, redemption,
  and beauty.
  
  
  Peart wants every person to persevere through individual trials, and find his
  or her unique gifts and abilities and, ultimately, true happiness. Most
  tellingly, Peart does not just profess such things, he has lived them and
  continues to live them.
  
  
  Never satisfied with second best or any form of defeat, Peart challenges
  himself time and time again to 