Reading Homer’s Odyssey
Picking up Homer’s Odyssey and reading it ‘cold’ is not a good idea. Reading it is essential, as it (together with The Iliad) is the foundational text of Western civilization,…
The Intoxication of the Ruins of Rome
You may think you know the ruins of ancient Rome, but this book will make you think about them in new ways. Roland Mayer is Emeritus Professor of Classics at…
Even Hell has a Library
“I am unable to satisfy my thirst for books.” That pithy line was written in 1337 by Petrarch, and that was even before the printing press was invented! Imagine what…
The Book of Kells: Unlocking the Enigma
The greatest treasure of Ireland, The Book of Kells, is considered the most magnificent medieval manuscript that survives and one of the oldest. The Latin manuscript contains the four gospels…
ROBERT McNAMARA: A Distorted View of Loyalty
For most authors embarking on a biography, the danger is to identify too closely with their chosen subject. The result, in the worst case, becomes hagiography. But even scrupulous authors…
JANE AUSTEN: 250 years
December 16 will mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen in 1775, whose novels have become so foundational that she is now often regarded in the same…
HALLOWEEN BOOK FEATURE: Witch Studies
My pick for the Halloween book of 2025 is The Witch Studies Reader. It is a collaboration of 44 experts, mostly university professors. This large book (500 pages) is broadly…
JANE AUSTEN: Facts are such horrid things!
Several books are being published this year to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, one of England’s most enduring authors. The one under review here should…
Oxford University in the 18th Century
The only real problem with this massive volume is the fact that it is so massive! At 819 pages, it is actually difficult to hold for any length of time.…
IMAGINATION: The Brain’s Meeting Place for Opposites
Image: John Donne (1572-1631) This book on imagination in English literature of the 1500s and early 1600s is edited by professors at two institutions in Canada (their bio data is…