ldquo Albion rdquo is a magic a mythic word It is the primal name of England itself and also of its whole island It is the Celtic Albio and the Gaelic Alba Its root-syllable alb ldquo white rdquo catches the whiteness of Dover rsquo s cliffs and suggests a pristine purity or blankness It

Along with Francis of Assisi Th r se of Lisieux ranks among the most venerated and popular Catholic saints and commands an impressive following that includes those with no religious faith or affiliation Th r se rsquo s life writings and reputation have prompted countless works in print rangi

Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code is a fast-paced, well-plotted murder mystery that takes the reader through the Louvre a long night of murders and a police chase out of Paris to a wet morning in London. There the identity of the evil Teacher who masterminded the killings is revealed.

Carol Bergman rsquo s Another Day in Paradise is a slim deeply moving anthology of stories by 15 international humanitarian workers who write eloquently and candidly about their experiences in places of war and natural disaster A journalist and the child of genocide survivors Bergman is fascinat

The vagaries of Arthur Schnitzler rsquo s reputation in the English-speaking world have been curious Often praised but little read best known for filmed versions of his work from Max Ophuls rsquo s marvelous ldquo La Ronde rdquo 1950 to Stanley Kubrick rsquo s dreadful ldquo Eyes Wide Shut r

With the approval of a new Palestinian cabinet led by Mohammed Qureia the publication of two model peace plans by leading Israeli and Palestinian peace activists and the recommendation by four former heads of Israeli internal security Shin Beth of a unilateral withdrawal by Israel from the West