In the popular story of the Nativity the Three Kings, along with the angels, the shepherds, and the manger, have long played an important role. They are an essential part of school Nativity playlets, often with surprising results. At Christmas time 1961 the English cartoonist Osbert Lancaster published one of his classic pocket cartoons, which…
Our regular reviewers provide some choices of what were the best, or at least for them, the most interesting, books of the year in 2018 ANTHONY REDMOND The well-known writer and educator, Fr Michael Paul Gallagher SJ, died from cancer in November 2015. Thomas G. Casey, an Irish Jesuit priest who knew Fr Gallagher,…
At Christmas it is nice to give people a book which they will enjoy on other occasions, a book that will provide not just interest and amusement, but also insights of lasting value. Here is a small selection of books currently in the shops which we think readers may want to give or would love…
At this time of the year the book shops are flooded with books for children and young adults, all hoping for great sales over the few weeks of the year when people go on a splurge of holiday related book buying. But like a puppy, a good book isn’t just for Christmas. On these pages…
Awakening Inner Peace: A Little Books of Hours by Sister Stan (Columba Books, €12.99 / £10.99) This little book, harking back to the pre-Reformation books of hours, though it lacks illustrations, might be called ‘the very rich hours’ of Sr Stanislaus. Certainly her intention, like those ancient books, is to enrich the daily prayer life of…
Sharing the Wisdom of Time, Pope Francis and friends (Messenger Publications, €24.95 / £27.50) This is a book inspired directly by Pope Francis. Youth, as we are all aware, knows it all, middle age has had ‘experience’, but maturity (surely to God a better term than ‘old age’), maturity has wisdom. Though it contains reflections…
The World of Books by the books editor During the Presidential election a native minority found themselves the focus of unwelcome attention. I was surprised at quite how confused many people, city dwellers for the most part, were about the social group now usually called ‘Travellers’. I find this a difficult word. The corollary…
Beautiful Thoughts for Beautiful Minds by John Scally (Currach Press, €14.99) For a long time I have valued collections of poems, short stories and essays as the best kind of bedside books. They provide just enough to allow the old brain to run down and come to rest, and to allow me to drift away into…
A Flavour of Kylemore Abbey by the Sisters of the Community (Columba Books, €24.99) When this book came to hand, I turned over the pages to see what made this cook book different from all the others that flood the market. My attention was immediately taken by a recipe for Frangipane Mince Pies, the last one in the…
Living With The Gods: On Beliefs and Peoples by Neil MacGregor (Allen Lane, £30) Patrick Claffey Neil MacGregor, the distinguished British art historian and museum director, is currently the creator of the Humboldt Forum, a new centre for world culture in Berlin. Many will have seen exhibitions or read his books, including A History of the World…