Is Religion Becoming Obsolete?
Why Religion Went Obsolete: The Demise of Traditional Faith in America By Christian Smith. Oxford University Press, 2025. Hardcover, 440 pages, $34.99. Reviewed by Phil Davignon. The question of whether religion is dying in the United States has long intrigued social...
Still Having Trouble with Gender
Trouble With Gender: Sex Facts, Gender Fictions By Alex Byrne. Polity Press, 2023. Hardcover, 320 pages, $29.95. Reviewed by Nathanael Blake. America is confused about gender, and MIT philosophy professor Alex Byrne is here to help. Earlier this year, Byrne faced down...
Eric Voegelin’s Later Thought
Eric Voegelin’s Late Meditations and Essays. Critical Commentary Companions. Edited by Michael Franz. St. Augustine’s Press, 2023. Paperback, 375 pages, $32.00. Reviewed by Lee Trepanier. One of the most important political philosophers of the twentieth century, Eric...
Mark Twain Revisited
Mark Twain By Ron Chernow. Penguin Press, 2025. Hardcover, 1,200 pages, $45. Reviewed by Chuck Chalberg. Let us stipulate at the outset that Ron Chernow has indeed covered the Twain waterfront in this massive volume. How could he not? Twain appears “Afloat” in Part...
Restocking Conservatives’ Bookshelves
13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (But Probably Haven’t Read) By Christopher J. Scalia. Regnery, 2025. Hardcover, 352 pages, $32.99. Reviewed by Nadya Williams. Earlier this summer, The New York Times published yet another jeremiad on fiction-reading men going the way...
@NadyaWilliams81 @cjscalia @ubookman Nadya, I enjoyed this thoughtful and sharply written essay on an important book. Some day we might look for a chance to hash these issues out. Maybe with Christopher. What are the limits of political criteria? What does Christian humanism say on this question?