Books

Amaranth is the first of Zachariah’s 50 wives, who live together with their children in a compound hidden in the mountains. When she married Zachariah, she was adrift and he was irresistible.

If we're to take a negative route to reach a positive outcome, we will need an experienced and thoughtful guide. Few are better equipped for this task than Douglas John Hall.

What we read matters. But what should we read? Matthew Hedstrom describes Protestant angst amid the information overload of the early 20th century.

Clergy need reminders about the core purpose of their work. Christopher Beeley draws on the works of early church leaders to deliver one.

I agree with everyone everywhere: Fox News's "why would a Muslim write about Jesus???" interview of Reza Aslan was pretty lousy stuff, yet he handled himself quite well, and good for him for selling more books because of it. All correct. Yet I'm puzzled by what both Aslan's on-air defense and many subsequent commentators imply: that academic/professional credentials inform a person's writing to the exclusion of personal convictions.

Martin Duberman delivers the first biography of Howard Zinn since Zinn’s death in 2010. He treats Zinn with kid gloves but does not completely shy away from criticism.

When Rachel Marie Stone offers homilies of food redemption rather than damnation, it may feel like a lovely if disorienting kind of grace.

Eric Cassell reminds us that people experience sickness in profoundly individual ways. Physicians should learn to heal patients even when they cannot cure their diseases.

Baseball continues to receive elegiac tributes. John Sexton's latest joins company with the works of some impressive lovers of the game.

James Cowan's book follows the Holy Family's path through Egypt. It is anchored in numerous conversations with monks, nuns, guides and fellow pilgrims.

This fall, C. S. Lewis's memorial stone will be unveiled in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey. Poets' Corner couldn't ask for a better tour guide.