Laura Yares’s "Jewish Sunday Schools" is a complex survey of Jewish immigrant religious education that notes its influence on society. The book details the concerns of early nineteenth-century Jewish American communities regarding the... Read More

With a mix of scientific and insider perspectives, sociologist Andrew L. Whitehead’s "American Idolatry" is a fascinating investigation of politics and racism in American Christian evangelicalism. Using statistical data and stories... Read More

In Elizabeth Fremantle’s historical novel "Disobedient", an artist fights for freedom and restitution. Rome is buzzing. The talent of young painter Artemisia Gentileschi defies all expectations. The quality of her work has already... Read More

A law professor dodges assassins, a bomb, and an ancient curse during a search for hidden treasure in John F. Dobbyn’s novel "Deadly Depths". Following his mentor’s strange death, Matthew vows to learn the truth. He discovers that... Read More

In Gerda Blees’s novel "We Are Light", a woman’s quiet, bizarre death exposes the tragic gap between ethics and legality. The leader of the Sound & Love Commune, Melodie manipulates loyalty and obedience from her small group of... Read More

In Prohibition-era New York, a young widow plunges into a world of vice, gangsters, and political corruption in Nancy Bilyeau’s novel "The Orchid Hour". After she loses her job at the library, Zia’s prospects are bleak. No one wants... Read More

The symbolism of the Soviet space program is examined in Cathleen S. Lewis’s cultural history "Cosmonaut". On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to enter space. Though brief, Gagarin’s venture outside of... Read More

In Rosemary Hennessy’s immersive book, seven singular authors are analyzed in terms of their unconventional lives and literary works. Drawing social crisis parallels between the 2020s and the Great Depression, this book unearths the... Read More