A Most Hospitable Benedict Option

A Most Hospitable Benedict Option

Building the Benedict Option: A Guide to Gathering Two or Three Together in His Name by Leah Libresco. Ignatius, 2018. Paperback, 163 pages, $17. Reviewed by Gracy M. Olmstead Nobody was meant to be a loner. In the Garden of Eden, God said that it was “not good for...
The Presence of the Counterkingdom

The Presence of the Counterkingdom

The Year of Our Lord 1943: Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis by Alan Jacobs. Oxford University Press, 2018. Cloth, 280 pages, $30. Reviewed by Adam Schwartz John Henry Newman once dubbed the Christian Church a “counter-kingdom.” As the historical embodiment of...
Why Moral Revolutions Matter

Why Moral Revolutions Matter

Revolution and Resistance: Moral Revolution, Military Might, and the End of Empire by David Tucker. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016. Paperback, 152 pages, $25. Reviewed by Brian A. Smith When social scientists attempt to explain events in history, moral causes...
Ancient Walls and New Bridges

Ancient Walls and New Bridges

Eduard Habsburg “And thou, O Wall, O sweet, O lovely Wall …” “Why are you posting pics of walls all the time? Shouldn’t we rather … you know, build bridges?” a fellow Tweeter ironically suggested after I posted the umpteenth snapshot of my walk along the Aurelian Wall...
Athwart Silicon Valley

Athwart Silicon Valley

Zero Hour for Gen X: How the Last Adult Generation Can Save America from Millennials by Matthew Hennessey. Encounter Books, 2018. Hardcover, 184 pages, $24. Reviewed by Matthew Stokes There’s a phrase once heard in television commercials and now common on social...