Books

It would be difficult to discover two contemporary authors who rival Peter Hennessy and Roy Jenkins as articulate and authoritative interpreters of modern British political life Each author brings to his work a well-established reputation as expert analyst of the institutions and personnel governin

Although she died at age 39 the Catholic writer Flannery O rsquo Connor left a literary legacy that secures her place as a major figure in 20th-century literature In this carefully researched well-written study of her fiction George A Kilcourse departs from the usual realm of literary criticism

This is the first book I ever reviewed which I have not only read but prayed overand listened to on a CD the book comes with a CD spoken by the actor Martin Sheen Kennedy a gifted even charismatic pastor and longtime chaplain in jails had earlier done specialized training in the practice of s

When democracies like the United States go to war it is up to the leaders of these duly elected governments to protect the life liberty and property of its citizens Military conflicts have presented a special challenge to democratic ideals and principles as the laws of the land can be severely t

This new edition of the fascinating account by a medieval Franciscan friar Odoric of Pordenone of his journeys through the Middle and Far East modern-day Turkey Iran Iraq India Sri Lanka Sumatra Java Borneo Vietnam and China comes at an appropriate moment in our national life Since Sept

Cities often express their unique character through the particular buildings with which they are associated In the United States for example New York City is linked with either the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building not to mention the recently disappeared twin towers of the World Tra

To what extent would it be meaningful or even coherent to think of the moods and experiences of a human lifeits solitude fears sufferings and joys from birth to deathas spiritual events taking place and reverberating within God Is there not something unyielding about the conditions of life th

Dava Sobel rsquo s 1999 bestseller Galileo rsquo s Daughter made the 17th-century cloistered nun Virginia Galilei in religion Suor Maria Celeste of the Franciscan order of Poor Clares into a worldwide celebrity Despite its title however Galileo rsquo s Daughter was really about the life of t

Though the mostly unheralded centennial of Queen Victoria rsquo s death has now drawn to a close it is pleasant to see various aspects of her sprawling era still being hailed by two writers who differ as Victorian critics might have said toto caelo In a consistently engaging and spirited if som