Various

Abortion Under State Constitutions by Paul Benjamin Linton Carolina Academic , 610 pages, $75 As Rodney Dangerfield might have put it, state constitutions get no respect. In our best law schools, these constitutions’ text, history, and structure are, for the most part, ignored. For most law . . . . Continue Reading »

Mr. Smith Goes to NiceaBruce D. Porter and Gerald R. McDermott’s dual analysis (“Is Mormonism Christian?” October 2008) provides us with a type of exchange that is far too infrequent. However, there is a long way to go in reaching a meeting of the minds in this endeavor. Unlike . . . . Continue Reading »

What the Rabbis Said: The Public Discourse of 19th Century American Rabbis by Naomi Cohen New York University Press, 252 pages, $45 Naomi Cohen charts how Jewish clergy negotiated the competing claims of tradition and the novel cultural, political, and religious context of America. In the absence . . . . Continue Reading »

The Life of Humanae Vitae Mary Eberstadt (“ The Vindication of Humanae Vitae ,” August/September 2008) does an excellent job reporting the disastrous results of widespread contraception. But she doesn’t answer a question that might be honestly posed by a married couple: Why . . . . Continue Reading »

Phenomenology of the Human Person by Robert Sokolowski Cambridge University Press, 360 pages, $26.99 paper Robert Sokolowski is held in ut­most respect among philosophers working in phenomenology. He is also recognized as an accomplished contributor to philosophical theology in a broad sense. . . . . Continue Reading »

Protestant Christendom Joseph Bottum’s article, “ The Death of Protestant America: A Political Theory of the Protestant Mainline ” (August/September 2008) is, as usual, a tour de force. He rightly notes that the Mainline Protestant establishment churches, and the cultural consensus they . . . . Continue Reading »

Terror & Tragedy In “Amis Amiss” (June/July 2008), Alan Jacobs asks, “When it is time to talk about terror, tragedy, and world-historical occasions, what do writers”precisely as writers ”bring to the table?” Might I suggest that what writers as poets have to offer is a unique . . . . Continue Reading »

The Way of Life John Paul II and the Challenge of Liberal Modernity by Carson Holloway Baylor University Press, 189 pages, $29.95 The late John Paul II, no systematic political thinker, nonetheless mounted one of the late twentieth century’s most sophisticated, if critical, affirmations of . . . . Continue Reading »

My Words Fly Up, My Thoughts Remain Below I was disappointed in reading Robert Miola’s article on “Shakespeare’s Religion” (May 2008) to see the truths of Shakespeare’s plays muddled in the debate of whether they are Protestant or Catholic. Intent audiences will find . . . . Continue Reading »

The Satires of Horace translated by A.M. Juster University of Pennsylvania Press, 160 pages, $34.95 Satire is supposed to be the one native Roman contribution to the literary genres, but it remains hard to define. Satire itself means something like “farrago”: a medley of different subject . . . . Continue Reading »