For the Jesuit “apostles of empire,” faith and polity were two inseparable aspects of the universal mission of Catholic New France, two wings on which North America might rise to attain the fullness of Christian civilization.
Books
Posted inArts & Culture, Books
Review: The inspiring witness of Fr. Tomás Halík
Fr. Tomás Halík might be the most thoughtful, learned and interesting Catholic that is widely unknown in the United States today. Hopefully, this book will right that wrong.
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Review: What are ‘Red State Christians’ really like?
In her new book on ‘Red State Christians,’ Angela Denker seeks “greater engagement and conversation at a time when America feels pulled to its extremes, when our first national impulse is to block and unfriend anyone who disagrees with us.”
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Review: Jon Hassler’s fiction takes us to the midwest and back again
Jon Hassler championed “America’s often struggling middle class” with his rigorous moral vision in his novels.
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Review: The importance of being Ibsen
In his new biography of Henrik Ibsen, Ivo de Figueiredo describes the story of the suffering artist, his father’s bankruptcy, his years as an apothecary’s assistant and his role as writer and theater manager.
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Review: The birth (and birthplace) of R.E.M.
Robert Dean Lurie’s biography of R.E.M. aims to trace the group’s rapid ascension from college town obscurity to rock’s upper echelons.
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Review: Sister Helen Prejean’s life on death row
Lest the reader assume that Sister Prejean’s work against the death penalty, is the sum total of her story, she spends the final pages of her afterword calling out the places where she sees continued injustices, particularly in the treatment of women and L.G.B.T. people in the church.
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Review: Latinos are protagonists in the American story
Rejecting the implications of the label “minority,” Carrie Gibson tells the entire 500-year history of Spanish-speaking peoples in what is now the United States.
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Review: Can social justice activism go too far?
Over the course of the mid-to-late 20th century, notions of social justice went very, very wrong.
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A Martha’s Vineyard mystery from Richard Russo
A detective story is not what we have come to expect from Russo, who generally operates at the same, easy-going speed as his male protagonists.