This summer I’ve read two ambitious books that succeed, two that partly succeed, and an unpretentious one that holds true to its roots. Let’s start with Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump (Forum, 2025). Molly Worthen walks us through four centuries of mystery history: Some leaders gain followers by charm but charisma is more Read More ›
Is anything new under the sun except books? My own preference by oceans and lakes is for books that raise energy levels. Others prefer calming waves. So here are two of the former and two of the latter. Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway (Viking, 2024) shows the power of DNA. Harkaway is the son of masterful British spy novelist David Read More ›
Thomas Howard’s Broken Altars: Secularist Violence in Modern History (Yale University Press, 2025) brilliantly flips the meme summarized by Christopher Hitchens in the title of his 2007 book, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. I debated Hitchens that year and offered examples of Christian compassion that should have pushed him off absolutism, but he was adamant: “Everything.” Howard, Read More ›
Eight days from now comes the most controversial day of the year. Easter bunnies and eggs (if you can afford the latter) mask the debate, but Gary Habermas jumps into it in On the Resurrection: Refutations (B&H Academic, 2024). Unlike other books that merely assert what the Gospels say, Habermas painstakingly undermines one by one the arguments that Jesus was Read More ›
Discovery Institute is pleased to announce that Vice President and Center for Science & Culture Managing Director John G. West has been invited by Eric Metaxas to discuss the topic of his new book, Stockholm Syndrome Christianity, at an upcoming Socrates in the Studio event in New York. Following a conversation with Andrew Klavan on his latest book, The Kingdom of Read More ›
Rational people differ on Who God is or what gods are, but should we all believe that the world is the product of intelligent design? That’s what a smart New York columnist, a smart Roman essayist who died in 43 BC, and the smart Discovery Institute researchers who follow science, all contend. The new book, by New York Times columnist Read More ›
Over the past 15 years, Francis Collins has been one of the most powerful scientists in America. He also is the most recognized evangelical Christian scientist in America. In this presentation based on his new book Stockholm Syndrome Christianity, Dr. John West critically examines Collins’ public record in a variety of areas at the intersection of faith, morality, and science. Read More ›
Sixty thousand Union soldiers led by General William T. Sherman killed the Confederacy with their famous “March to the Sea” in 1864—but 20,000 enslaved blacks liberated themselves by marching with them. Bennett Parten’s Somewhere Toward Freedom (Simon & Schuster, 2025) tells that often-neglected story and brings out emancipation excitement. Parten also reports disappointment as Reconstruction faltered, land-reform lagged, and Somewhere Read More ›
