‘Old Christmas 
is still alive…’ Once again Christ-mas, and all its associations, religious and commercial, has passed over and the New Year approaches. But this is only in Western countries, in Europe, the Americas, and parts of Africa. In the Levant, those Asian countries where the sun rises each day among the most ancient Christian…

Anthony Redmond I have no hesitation in saying that the book that made the biggest impression on me, not just this year, but for quite a few years, is Letters from Aleppo by Fr Ibrahim Alsabagh (Columba Press, € 14.99). It is a wonderfully moving and powerful account of a dedicated priest’s daily life in…

Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales by P. D. James (Faber & Faber, £10.00) There are critics who think that a tale of crime is often better told as a short story, with the models of Conan Doyle, and many writers of the golden age in the interwar years when there were magazine outlets. Now…

Anthony Redmond How We Killed God . . .and Other Tales of Modern Ireland by David Quinn (Currach Press, €16.99) Two guests who took part on the Ryan Tubridy Show on RTÉ radio back in October 2006 were the well-known atheist Richard Dawkins and the journalist David Quinn. Dawkins was there to discuss his book,…

At this time of the year publishers are particularly anxious to push their new wares. That is all very well for them, but many readers might also like to read something older, to return to the classics of all kinds that were the common rereading of yesteryear. Oddly enough as a result I suppose of…

by J. Anthony Gaughan Sometimes, especially at this time of the year, it is good to look back over the recent past, and perhaps to add a corrective note to what had been written and perhaps widely accepted. I have been reading lately a book that was given to me as present, but which was…

This week we present a selection of books available this Christmas time for smaller children and young adults.  Younger children The President’s Glasses Peter Donnelly Gill Books, €14.99 This must be the delight of the season for both children and parents. It presents the president as slightly forgetful – well it comes to us all.…

Science and Spiritual Practices: Transformative experiences and their effects on our bodies, brains, and health by Rupert Sheldrake (Coronet, £20.00) Christopher Moriarty   Scientific evidence shows that humans have sought, for tens of thousands of years, to connect their activities with something outside their day-to-day activities.  Since history began, written records of religious practices have…

The Astronomy Book (Big Ideas Imply Explained series) (DK / Penguin Random House, €20) Michael Fewer   When our children were young, one of the highlights of visits to our country cottage was the night skies, particularly in autumn and winter, when we all used to wrap up well and lie out on foam mattresses,…

De Valera: Volume 1 Rise 1882-1932 by David McCullagh (Gill Books, €24.99) Joe Carroll   Apart from about eight full biographies of Eamon de Valera, there have been the hundreds if not thousands of articles and critiques covering his long life. What new is there to say? David McCullagh, who is a journalist with RTÉ…