Sebastian Barry first made his mark as a writer with The Steward of Christendom a play about his grandfather who rose from the ranks to become a superintendent of the Irish police force in Dublin under British rule but quickly fell into disrepute and dejection with its passing It made the rounds

Just 100 years ago on Oct 24 1902 the town crier in the Guatemalan town of Quetzaltenango struggled to make himself heard over the deafening roar of the nearby volcano which had blown skyward that morning Despite the noise of rocks crashing against rooftops and the ground shaking beneath his f

There are not many memoirs available from people who work beneath the surface of the executive branch of the federal government Usually presidents vice presidents cabinet secretaries and White House staffers publish such accounts Daniel Ellsberg rsquo s reflections however illuminate the tasks

For those familiar with the novels of Jon Hassler coming to his newest novel The Staggerford Flood will be a series of surprise reunions Which is perhaps part of his purpose For The Staggerford Flood is also a series of surprise reunions for the novel rsquo s chief character Agatha McGee th

Six years ago the dominant mantra sounded ldquo End welfare as we have known it rdquo Progressive and religious voices however challenged this slogan seeking to replace it with ldquo end poverty as we have known it rdquo What has the welfare reform legislation of 1996 done to poverty How

Jay P Dolan professor emeritus of history at the University of Notre Dame and founding director of the Cushwa Center there sets out in his new book to examine the interaction of American culture with Roman Catholicism ldquo in the land of the free rdquo under the heading of a ldquo search for