A Great Yarn

A Great Yarn

From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faithby Sohrab Ahmari. Ignatius Press, 2019. Hardcover, 240 pages, $23. Reviewed by Matthew Hennessey If you’re going to write a book about your religious conversion it’d better be a great yarn. And if you’re going to...
Tension and Freedom for Catholics in Britain

Tension and Freedom for Catholics in Britain

The King and the Catholics: England, Ireland, and the Fight for Religious Freedom, 1780–1829 by Antonia Fraser. Nan A. Talese, 2018. Hardcover, 336 pages, $30. Reviewed by William Anthony Hay Often the most contentious political issues of one era cease being issues at...
On Fascists and Anti-Fascists in Spain

On Fascists and Anti-Fascists in Spain

Varela: El general antifascista de Franco by Federico Martínez Roda. La Esfera de los Libros, S.L., 2012. Paperback, $41. Reviewed by Alberto M. Fernandez Fascism is in the air in Spain. Actual fascists seem hard to find but you wouldn’t know it from the political...
Catholics and America: A Question of Loyalty

Catholics and America: A Question of Loyalty

The Catholic Writings of Orestes Brownson Edited by Michael P. Federici. University of Notre Dame Press, 2018. Hardcover, 452 pages, $70. Reviewed by Richard M. Reinsch II A question that most had thought long answered has returned to stir and prick the conscience of...
A Slight and Dismal Cachet

A Slight and Dismal Cachet

Born to Be Posthumous: The Eccentric Life and Mysterious Genius of Edward Gorey by Mark Dery. Little, Brown and Company, 2018. Hardcover, 512 pages, $35. Reviewed by Eve Tushnet Many years ago I saw an obituary notice in the local gay newspaper. Above a desolate,...