Set in Mexico, Anita Desai's latest novel is a compact but multilayered tale of pilgrimage.

John Gardner, Martin Amis, and the ethics of the novel.

The conclusion of our seasonal roundup—and, at last, truly, this time we mean it, The Worst Book of the Year.

More books to note from 2004.

A savory collections of essays by Alan Jacobs.

A project sponsored by Gordon College's Center for Christian Studies offers models for constructive engagement across lines of division.

And a warning about the risks of reading.

Falling birthrates demand new priorities for families.

A review of On Broken Legs: A Shattered Life, a Search for God, a Miracle That Met Me in a Cave in Assisi.

Some that stand out in this season's plenty.

A roundup from the National Communication Association's annual convention.

An unsparing new memoir by the author of Slackjaw.

All the Founding Fathers of America celebrated independence, but what the word meant depended on who was speaking.

Remembering a philosopher who never forgot about death.

Susan Howatch's new novel explores the transformation of sexual attraction to sacrificial love.

Poland (mostly) honors Czeslaw Milosz upon his death.

The first volume of an ambitious new history of America highlights the engine of worldly ideals—and the role of evangelical religion in creating a distinctive American identity.

Race, nature, and patriarchy meet in Rhys Isaac's biography of early American diarist Landon Carter.

A lively conference offers a state-of-the-art assessment of the concept of worldview, with both advocates and dissenters represented.