Those familiar with the Gilead story will find in Marilynne Robinson's latest novel another beautiful meditation on grace operative in spite of habits of despair and the social sins that feed them.

A longtime historian of Los Angeles explores and deconstructs the mythical city of boosters, developers and "perpetual reinvention."

If you think being a writer is nerve-wracking, try being a reviewer.

Tolkien's fiction reminds us that power cannot be controlled; it enslaves you. To act freely is to acknowledge your limits, to see the journey as a long road that includes dozens of future elections, and to fight against the temptation for power.

In the spirit of Halloween, we offer a selection of frightening books with Catholic themes—some written by Catholic authors, some not—that will haunt you into at least tomorrow, and maybe forever.

The death of renowned reporter Jim Dwyer is a loss for New York City—as well as for all the people he influenced, informed, or touched in other ways over the course of an impressive life.