Books

Here are two incontrovertible truths about Gertrude Bell 1868-1926 she was a brilliant wise fascinating woman and she played a significant role in the creation of modern Iraq But 8220 Queen of the Des-ert 8221 8220 Shaper of Nations 8221 The original British edition had a quieter t

Why we should think twice about genetic engineering

I found myself rooting for this book as I went through the early pages But about one-third through Consumed I began thinking ldquo repetitious rdquo then tried to convince myself that it had a nice ldquo range rdquo but eventually had to admit that it was a rambling reflection best described

The permanent diaconate a reality in the ecclesial structure of the church in the United States since its renewal by the Second Vatican Council has been the topic of several volumes in the Paulist Press Deacon rsquo s Library series Kenan Osborne O F M emeritus professor of systematic theology

In the Los Angeles area a community of observant Jews wants to bring picnic baskets to the beach on Saturdays Surprisingly this has put them at odds with both the Sierra Club and the staff of the California Coastal Commission According to Talmud a Jew may not schlep anything outside his home on

Early Christian literature both Greek and Latin tells us that there is a long history of Christian women living in celibate communities of prayer and service By the end of the fourth century at least such communities were not unusual and through the Middle Ages in the West womens monastic est

The two key words in the title of David Mamets new book Bambi vs Godzilla On the Nature Purpose and Practice of the Movie Business are movie and business The screenwriter and director hates the businessor what passes for business but is really the struggle for poweraspect of making movies So

As soon as I began to read the very first of these poems by John Hennessy ldquo Signing the Kills rdquo I had to get out a map of the New Jersey shore to find where the Rahway River emerges across from Staten Island and along the Arthur Kill Then I needed the dictionary to inform me that ldqu

A review of Philip Jenkins’s book on Europe and Islam