Books

Years ago my husband and I spent a grim rainy day at the former Dachau Concentration Camp in southern Germany The museum rsquo s last exhibit in white letters against a black background was a single line from American philosopher George Santayana Those who forget the past are condemned to repea

I owe a great deal to Henri J M Nouwen His writing which I first discovered in the 1970 rsquo s helped clarify the spiritual life for me I continue to read and profit from his books and recommend them to others Oddly I felt a certain trepidation about this posthumous work on spiritual direct

This volume exquisitely edited by Kenneth Himes O F M is a superb contribution to Catholic social ethics and will undoubtedly serve as a basic text providing a synthetic statement of the last century of the Catholic social tradition While its primary audience is the Catholic community it prov

Can anyone seriously doubt that sustained reflection on the topic of peacemaking is among the most urgent tasks facing humankind In the wake of the bloodiest century in history the Christian community has a solemn obligation to share with the wider human society whatever insights it can glean from

In his poem God rsquo s Grandeur Gerard Manley Hopkins calls it the dearest freshness deep down things and in his Book of Pilgrimage Rainer Maria Rilke refers to it as the deep innerness of all things What each poet strives to capture in words is the heart of matter beyond appearance that essen

When Europeans criticize President George W Bush rsquo s foreign policy they often cite the predominance of neo- conservative and religious thinking A book written by a British politician who defines himself as a conservative a Catholic and a patriot ought thus to offer some hope for the trans

Louis Uchitelle a veteran New York Times reporter examines the human costs of focusing on short-term financial gains and globalization mdash outsourcing downsizing and layoffs Millions experience the resulting anxiety and illness in their daily lives In The Disposable American Uchitelle investi

Whenever I assign a book by Charles Curran in a moral theology course my students rsquo first questions are always quot Have you met him What is he like quot It is not surprising that they are curious about Curran As this newly released memoir recounts at a relatively young age Curran becam

This fine new collection by the distinguished poet Jack Gilbert looks back on the pleasures of many years with what he calls ldquo a tough happiness rdquo ldquo The Garden rdquo Gilbert rsquo s life has been an odyssey taking off from his native Pittsburgh which developed in him ldquo a ta

Megan McKenna is a storyteller Even when she interprets someone else rsquo s story she uses the medium of story to do so In On Your Mark she tells a story about a Gospel story about Jesus By employing the familiar summons to a race mdash ldquo On your mark Get set Go rdquo mdash she conveys