A new book explores the complexities of one of the architects of American foreign policy.

Jonathan Franzen’s welcome engagement with religion is undercut by his reductive psychological account.

In Dante's Indiana, Randy Boyagoda rides a rollercoaster that could easily derail into infernal entertainment but finds divine comedy instead.

In Lost Illusions and Lost Souls, Balzac proves himself an acolyte of ambition, immersing us in addled souls who can’t let go until it is too late.