When army wife Beth reads on the Internet about the death of any soldier in Iraq, her initial fear is that one might be her husband, Doug. When it isn’t, she feels relieved, then guilty: “The fallen soldiers might not have been her... Read More

In a painting by Raphael, Saint George rides forth from a town on his white horse and slays a hideous, voracious dragon. Or … is that Saint Michael, who also slew vicious mystical beasts? Viewers in Renaissance times would have been... Read More

As befits a book about love, this one starts with a song: “Love, unrequited, robs me of my rest / Love, hopeless love, my ardent soul encumbers / Love, nightmare-like, lies heavy on my chest.” According to the author, this Gilbert... Read More

Even Gandhi believed that people need the qualities that warriors once possessed, but soldiering, once a constructive rite of passage, has given up most of the glory it once held. Weapons of mass destruction have ruined war. Machine... Read More

Reading this book is like going on a blind date with a checklist of requirements: must be able to cook and be at least six feet tall. No Birkenstocks. You think you know exactly what you want but when you crack the cover of your... Read More