2019 Books of the Year
Great books tell stories. Here’s our pick of vivid and insightful new releases for better understanding America, world events, history, science, and theology
Voices
Andrée Seu Peterson
A choice to rejoice
When you wake up in the morning, the first thing you try to think of is what day it is. “It’s Tuesday,” you say to yourself. It means you’re not going to church because it isn’t Sunday, and you don’t...
Joel Belz
‘System for sinners’
“Socialism is a system for saints. Democratic capitalism works because it’s a system for sinners.” ...
The Editors
Mailbag
‘Room with a viewpoint’ ...
Janie B. Cheaney
Very high stakes
Anyone who sails the high seas of political dialogue on the internet encounters a lot of this kind of thing: “Dear White, Christian Trump Supporter—We Need to Talk.” That’s the title of a much-shared...
Marvin Olasky
Benevolent cancer
Sixth in a once-a-quarter series of short short fiction … ...
Notebook
Technology
Stronger on cyber
The Russian hacking of Democratic National Committee servers during the recent U.S. presidential campaign was an opportunistic act. That’s the conclusion of cybersecurity expert Christopher Cleary, a...
Lifestyle
New baby? Just relax
Sitting in her high chair at lunch, 1-year-old Christie was inconsolable. Though her dad brought her various foods and toys, the baby persistently fussed and cried, with tears sliding down her rotund...
Medicine
A fresh pair of genes?
Do genes equal destiny? Anatomically speaking, yes: A child with two X chromosomes will be a girl, and a child with one X and one Y will be a boy. Genes help determine everything from height and hair...
Money
Giving by group
Six years ago Dallas residents Stephen Reiff and David Luttrell, two recent college grads with steady jobs and incomes, found they both had the same question: “How would God have us steward His money?...
Culture
Movies & TV
Doubting and seeking
CNN may not be a reliable source for theological insight, yet the network’s Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, Forgery could make for interesting viewing. Academic voices from Duke University, Asbury...
Movies & TV
A ‘Shack’ divided
The Shack is a same-title movie adaptation of William P. Young’s controversial and heretical best-selling novel. ...
Movies & TV
Paying for his sins
Most of the media focus on Logan, the latest movie featuring Hugh Jackman as X-Men member Wolverine, has been on how 20th Century Fox decided to pursue an R rating. It’s an unusual choice for a...
Music
Shakespeare-Music Albums
Shakespeare Songs ...
Music
Classically classical
Critics have written much about the break that occurred in the 20th century between the traditional and the experimental branches of classical music, usually with an aim toward explaining the...
Books
Wonder and discovery
Ada Twist, Scientist ...
Books
Religiously themed books
Church in Hard Places: How the Local Church Brings Life to the Poor and Needy ...
Books
Glimpses of other cultures
Give UC Berkeley professor Arlie Hochschild credit for descending into darkest Louisiana to see whether tea party and Trump supporters would eat her alive. She received hospitable treatment but in...
Q&A
A writer at work
Baseball players are now at spring training—and George Will noted in Men at Work, his 1990 baseball book, that training means daily labor, not play. The same goes for being a major league writer, as...
