The most startling fact about Edwin O'Connor's life was its brevity The acclaimed author of such mid-century Irish and Catholic classics as 'The Last Hurrah' and 'The Edge of Sadness' seemed a fit and healthy man. Yet he died when he was just 49 in 1968.

Garnished with stories of saintly figures and their teachings, Robert Ellsberg's book consists of eight chapters that are like interlocking facets of happiness and holiness.

Summer is the perfect time to catch up on reading those books you’ve set aside for that eschatological someday. With that in mind, I offer a short list of summer reading suggestions. The four books can be characterized as follows: new and fun, sort of new and very interesting, old and wonderfu

Ron Hansen’s new novel is a dollop of sweet cream, an entertainment, a sip of champagne, a screwball comedy, a romp, a bauble, a love letter to Nebraska.

Not long ago a distant cousin, a genealogy buff, sent me an antique clipping from a local paper about a possible ancestor on trial for murder. In the labor wars of the 19th century, scabs did not have much longevity in the Irish factory towns of the Middle West. This long-forgotten enforcer simply p