An idealist—like Jesus or Jefferson Smith—can be dangerous because he refuses to accept the compromises that form the foundation of their power.

March Madness is upon us, and (as usual) there are a lot of Catholic schools in the mix. Can any of them prevail?

Opening Day is a reminder that there are, to quote Bill Veeck, only two seasons: winter and baseball.

From 1957: Los Angeles is a large city. In some ways it is an important city. But it is not (yet) a great city.

Chicago has James T. Farrell’s Studs Lonigan. New Orleans has John Kennedy Toole’s Ignatius J. Reilly. Boston has Edwin O’Connor’s 'Last Hurrah.' And William Kennedy’s Albany Cycle series has “ironweeds” like Billy and Francis Phelan. What, then, is the greatest book ever written about the New York City Irish?

When we create, we refuse to let darkness have the final say.