It was May, 1985, and the author, a professor at the University of Rochester, was grading papers “with the usual sense of futility” (as he recalled in a letter to his father) when he noticed that the sentence through which he was... Read More

Shakers mourn. The pointer covers mourners’ heads with white bands and whispers passwords in their ears. With crosses and candles in hand, mourners prepare for ecstatic spiritual journeys. The pointer repeats the password to them so... Read More

A small, rural town in north-central lower Michigan, Idlewild is barely a wide spot on U.S. Highway 10, with very little to separate it from the blur of other near-ghost towns on the upland of the Manistee National Forest: a shuttered... Read More

Pope Pius XII, head of the Roman Catholic Church during World War II, did not speak out publicly against the destruction of Europe’s Jews. With increasing frequency over the years, scholars have addressed the issue of papal silence and... Read More

Readers may well ask, “When is the mini-series scheduled?” while enjoying this captivating account of forgery, fame, and personal disaster in London of the 1770s. Before the story ends, le beau monde will crowd the courts, pamphlet... Read More

Given the American obsession with sports, it is hardly surprising that many American poets should have turned their attention that way. In this generous gathering of sports poems, the editor offers something for just about everyone, with... Read More

The vibrant hardscapes of California’s streets, beaches, and sere, high deserts frame the austerely beautiful internal terrain of middle age, in this new collection by regional poet and scholar Buckley. The poetry, mostly free verse,... Read More

To borrow one of the author’s own metaphors, this guide removes the literary “straitjacket” from the Shakespeare canon. Through careful, thoughtful, and objective illumination of the work, the man, the time period, and the people... Read More