The Civil Tongue

The Civil Tongue

Wonder and Wrath by A. M. Juster. Paul Dry Books, 2020. Paperback, 85 pages, $14.95. Reviewed by Dan Rattelle It is difficult to imagine a more upstanding literary citizen than A. M. Juster. His work as an editor, lately of First Things and now at Plough,...
Why, and How, to Live

Why, and How, to Live

Leading a Worthy Life: Finding Meaning in Modern Times by Leon R. Kass. Encounter Books, [2017] 2020. Hardcover, 407 pages, $21. Reviewed by Jeffrey Folks Leading a Worthy Life is in large part the intellectual and spiritual autobiography of one of America’s leading...
The Cost of a Global Revolution

The Cost of a Global Revolution

The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History by Alexander Mikaberidze. Oxford University Press, 2020. Hardcover, 960 pages, $40. Reviewed by Casey Chalk Many, I’d imagine, would be intimidated by a 960-page book on the Napoleonic era. Or perhaps they’d be uninterested,...
Can Whimsy Save the Small-Town Novel?

Can Whimsy Save the Small-Town Novel?

Virgil Wander by Leif Enger. Grove Press, 2018. Paperback, 320 pages, $17. Reviewed by Matt Miller Small towns in American fiction have a history as varied as the landscapes they inhabit. Often stifling or enervating, as in the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sherwood...
Voting the Bible

Voting the Bible

The Bible and the Ballot: Using Scripture in Political Discussions by Tremper Longman III. Eerdmans, 2020. Softcover, 310 pages, $24.99. Reviewed by Jason Jewell The political involvement of American Protestant evangelicals has ebbed and flowed in the past century....