Is the Use of Religious Rhetoric by Presidents Effective?

by | Feb 9, 2015

God Wills It: Presidents and the Political Use of Religion by David O’Connell. Transaction, 2014. Hardcover, 452 pp., $54.95.David O’Connell’s God Wills It: Presidents and the Political Use of Religion is a thoughtful, engaging, but ultimately unconvincing examination...

I Would Kill for the Thrill of First Love

by | Feb 2, 2015

Marta Oulie by Sigrid Undset, translated by Tiina Nunnally, with an introduction by Jane Smiley. University of Minnesota Press, 2014. Paperback, 128 pages, $16. Marta Oulie opens with the confession, “I have been unfaithful to my husband.” So it comes as no surprise...

Lives of the Saints

by | Feb 2, 2015

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson. Simon & Schuster, 2014. Hardcover, 543 pages, $35. The Innovators is Walter Isaacson’s story of the scientists, engineers, programmers, and entrepreneurs...