Christopher White’s ‘Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy’ presents readers with a substantive, engaging portrait of where things stand right now in a church, and a world, increasingly marked by polarization, authoritarianism and violence.
Books
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Review: Catholic militants in the present day
In ‘Catholic Fundamentalism in America,’ Mark Massa, S.J., describes the birth and growth of Catholic fundamentalism over the past six decades.
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Four books we recommend this month—plus poetry for fall
New this month: Valerie Sayers on Muriel Spark, Ross Douthat on belief and Rob Weinert-Kendt on Lin-Manuel Miranda
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Review: Ross Douthat on why everyone should be religious
Ross Douthat addresses weighty topics in his new book, but his reasons for belief are often puzzling.
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Review: The mysterious Muriel Spark
The force and clarity of Frances Wilson’s arguments in ‘Electric Spark,’ however debatable, do her subject the literary justice she deserves.
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Review: Will our pets go to heaven?
In ‘A Heaven for Animals: A Catholic Case and Why It Matters,’ Christopher Steck, S.J., faces the ethical tensions within the Roman Catholic tradition that have swung between arguments for either wanting to use other animals for the sake of human convenience or showing them compassion.
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Review: A new biography of Lin-Manuel Miranda tells his creative origin story
In his engaging new biography, ‘Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist,’ Daniel Pollack-Pelzner traces a career path that was hardly inevitable or solitary.
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Review: Joyce Carol Oates returns with a suspenseful prep-school tale
Joyce Carol Oates’s new novel, ‘Fox,’ gives her a chance to limn a New Jersey community that should be familiar to those living in nondescript, relatively affluent suburbs.
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Review: A new twist on a classic text
In their compelling new translation of the “Aeneid,” Scott McGill and Susannah Wright offer a dynamic, poignant and thought-provoking take on this classic poem.
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Review: What was Jesus’ childhood like?
Joan Taylor’s ‘Boy Jesus’ is a model of careful scholarship that relies on old sources but breaks new ground. It is, in some places, riveting.