The editors of HUMAN EVENTS, a popular political journal, recently asked a panel of 28 distinguished scholars and university professors to serve as judges in developing a list of "Ten Books Every Student Should Read in College." One of the scholars asked to contribute was Dr. Lee Cheek, Associate Professor of Political Science at Lee University.
To derive the list, each scholar first nominated titles. When all the nominations were collected—they amounted to more than 100 titles—HUMAN EVENTS then sent a ballot to the scholars asking each to list his or her Top Ten selections. A book was awarded ten points for receiving a No. 1 rating, 9 points for receiving a No. 2 rating, and so on. The ten books with the highest aggregate ratings made the list.
Interestingly enough, the No. 1 book the judges decided every college student should read is the Bible.
Dr. Cheek is the author of Political Philosophy and Cultural Renewal (Transaction, 2001, with Kathy B. Cheek), and Calhoun and Popular Rule, published by the University of Missouri Press (2001). Dr. Clyde Wilson of the University of South Carolina described the latter study as "definitive." Wilson is the leading Calhoun scholar in America. The tome has been adopted by a national book club, and was recently nominated for several national book awards. Dr. Cheek is also the editor of Calhoun: Selected Speeches and Writings (Regnery, 2003).
He has also published over fifty journal articles in publications like the Journal of Politics, Methodist History, International Social Science Review, and is a regular commentator on American politics. He is also the editor of a forthcoming study of Spanish politics, Order and Legitimacy (Transaction, 2004). Dr. Cheek’s current research includes completing an intellectual biography of Francis Graham Wilson and a study of the political thought of Patrick Henry.