October 12, 2016

Our fall books issue's reviews include Phil Christman on Colson Whitehead, Dennis O'Brien on Cathleen Kaveny, LaVonne Neff on Susan Faludi, and more.

How is it that the poems of a 17th-century aristocrat still resonate with us?

From baby in a basket to liberating lawgiver, Moses has been all things to all people.

Susan Faludi’s memoir reveals the deep complexity of her father’s many identities.

I relate to physical sickness more easily than mental illness. So does our culture.

The Century asked professors, writers, and policy makers to tell us about a book they would want to hand to their elected officials to read.

Theologies of entitlement, enslaving, and extinguishing indigenous communities have shaped policy since the 15th century.

Even in the secular imagination, dying has become a vocation.

Sex is complicated. So is Christian reflection on it.

As we make laws and try to adjudicate justice, we often lose sight of the human faces affected.

Matthew Skinner, Philip Jenkins, Grant Wacker, and Mary Clark Moschella recommend the best new books in their fields.

The United States has been engaged for decades in a seemingly endless series of wars and military operations.

There’s a place in society for prophetic denunciation. There’s also a place for restraint.

We can no longer pretend that the scales of justice in America are fair and balanced.

Ideas about the ghetto matter. They always have.

Mary Clark Moschella recommends the best recently published books in her field.

Strongly held differences of opinion in our nation's life require both legal protection and public respect.

Grant Wacker recommends the best recently published books in his field.

Can Christians display a life together that’s as compelling as war?

A justice system oriented mainly toward punishing offenders can have tragic consequences.

Philip Jenkins recommends the best recently published books in his field.

Is it possible for two 12-year-olds to retain their innocence in a place like Auschwitz?

Matthew L. Skinner recommends the best recently published books in his field.

Colson Whitehead has created a world as compelling—and as intolerable—as our own.

By some estimates, three quarters of Americans don't really know their next-door neighbor.