Books

With the publication of Truly Our Sister A Theology of Mary in the Communion of Saints Elizabeth A Johnson has reached a challenging theological goal that she set for herself almost a decade ago It was Johnson rsquo s initial desire to write a book on Mary and include a chapter on the communion

I have only once in my life lacked shelter I was visiting a friend in Rome to join him on a tour to Assisi He was supposed to book me a room at his hotel My friend a well-meaning but proverbial innocent abroad told me he figured to save me money if I shared his room He had obviously never hear

Perhaps no period in the history of ancient Israel is as controversial as the two centuries between the Exodus from Egypt and the establishment of kingship in the late 11th century B C E under Saul and his successor David Contemporary views run the gamut from essential acceptance of the biblical t

Rosemary Mahoney is a good traveler and a good writerinterested interesting and strikingly unconventional in her perceptions In earlier books she has allowed us to listen to people in China The Early Arrival of Dreams and Ireland Whoredom in Kimmage a 1994 National Book Critics Circle Award f

By any yardstick Contemplatives in Action The Jesuit Way surpasses all expectations This book is a gem and is destined to be a classic introduction for all future reading about Jesuits and their way William A Barry S J and Robert G Doherty S J accomplish something rather remarkable in thi

Flannery O rsquo Connor downplayed the deep spirituality that infused her life and her works She is probably saying ldquo Haw haw haw rdquo in the southern backwoods accent that she sometimes affected as she views this new title in the Modern Spiritual Masters series The series introduces read

The great bulk of Thomas Keneally rsquo s 30-some books have been fiction but he rsquo s at his best when dealing with facts as in his splendid novelized biography Schindler rsquo s List 1993 his family-clan-nation epic The Great Shame and the Triumph of the Irish in the English-Speaking Worl

Not very long ago the only people who knew about Megan McKenna were those who heard her lecture in college courses or who were present at conferences conventions and retreats where she was a featured speaker Reports filtered back from these occasions that she was an accomplished storyteller who c

A quaintly phrased prologue seeks a ldquo most gracious and deliberate rdquo reader rsquo s trust The voice of ldquo a minor cleric rdquo a preacher long at his post reveals that he has committed ldquo Davidic sins rdquo But now in older age he rests content in his work because of the st

During a recent appearance on Bill Moyers rsquo s PBS news program ldquo Now rdquo 4 04 Susan Sontag ruefully noted the timeliness of her new book about pictures of the victims of violence in general and of war in particular It had she admitted ldquo an obscenely topical character rdquo