The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicolas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth

~ Peggy Haslar

"In the year 1666, in the beautiful city of Florence, Italy, the court of Grand Duke Ferdinando II saw the arrival of a most unusual object--the partial remains of a great white shark!" That's a pretty cool opener for a middle reader biography, and Thomas Salerno's The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicholas Steno … Continue reading The Riddle of the Tongue-Stones: How Blessed Nicolas Steno Uncovered the Hidden History of the Earth

Killing Contempt in a Kingdom Divided

~ Peggy Haslar

Every kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. (Mark 12:24) Harvard Professor Arthur Brooks delivered a speech at Utah Valley University just two weeks after Charlie Kirk was assassinated on its campus. He spoke on one of his favorite themes: we must learn to love our enemies if our nation is to heal from the polarizing … Continue reading Killing Contempt in a Kingdom Divided

He May Be A Complete Unknown, but Dylan’s Spiritual Heart Still Sings to Me

~ Peggy Haslar

The biopic A Complete Unknown may bring Bob Dylan’s music to a new generation, but I wish it had given at least a nod in the direction of Dylan's spiritual side. While Timothée Chalomet evokes Dylan's enigmatic persona impressively, one doesn’t feel particularly drawn to the young Bob Dylan, but rather to Pete Seeger, endearingly … Continue reading He May Be A Complete Unknown, but Dylan’s Spiritual Heart Still Sings to Me

An “Absolute Refusal to Hate”: Takashi Nagai and A Song for Nagasaki

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 4 Comments

On the morning of August 9, 1945, physician and radiology professor Takashi Nagai was preparing a lecture in his office in the Nagasaki Medical College Hospital. Just a few days before, on hearing news of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, Nagai had sent his children Matoko and Kayana to live with their grandmother four … Continue reading An “Absolute Refusal to Hate”: Takashi Nagai and A Song for Nagasaki

Pointing Past Polarization: Matthew Becklo’s The Way of Heaven and Earth

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 8 Comments

While division has always marked the human experience, "the speed, frequency and intensity with which we can now share ideas has brought us to a crisis of polarization - one that more and more threatens the future of civilization." Matthew Becklo had me from the opening of his new book, The Way of Heaven and … Continue reading Pointing Past Polarization: Matthew Becklo’s The Way of Heaven and Earth

The Backyard Bird Chronicles: Amy Tan’s Log of Lore and Love

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 7 Comments

Sometime in late April a few weeks before the close of another school year, I ask the children, gathered at my feet for a story to close their eyes. Most of them do, and it’s fun to see who’s peeking. “Imagine that you’re in your bed in the morning, and you wake up before anyone … Continue reading The Backyard Bird Chronicles: Amy Tan’s Log of Lore and Love

Learning to Love in the Great Crowd that Can’t be Numbered

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 4 Comments

Back in 1927 Dorothy Day, a passionate social activist who was beginning to awaken spiritually, attended a Catholic Mass. Noting the presence of every strata of society gathered for worship in the same place, Day was especially impressed "by the egalitarian and inclusive way people gathered for the liturgy," writes Bishop Robert Barron. What impressed … Continue reading Learning to Love in the Great Crowd that Can’t be Numbered

Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan’s “Solitary” School of Love

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 2 Comments

Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan (1928-2002) was raised in a devout Vietnamese family with a memory of horrific religious persecution in the complicated history of Vietnamese Catholicism. His grandfather’s cousin “Aunt Lien” was present when, in 1885, the Catholics of Dai Phong gathered in their church to escape a raid when the church’s bamboo roof … Continue reading Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan’s “Solitary” School of Love

Help Children Understand Mimetic Desire with this Perfectly Pink Picture Book

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 2 Comments

“Vivi is dizzy with wanting pink. The kind of pink Merilee, Miranda and Wanda have.” We’ve all been dizzy with wanting something. The opening of Pink, a picture book by children's author Nan Gregory, is completely relatable. But notice: Vivi doesn't want just any pink. Her working class parents, who live in a brown apartment … Continue reading Help Children Understand Mimetic Desire with this Perfectly Pink Picture Book

Highlights from 2024’s Reading List

~ Peggy Haslar ~ 2 Comments

“It’s all been said before,” a charming English professor from my college days commented so often that the words surface each time I remember him. “But you can add your grain of sand," he'd add with a twinkle in his eye. Oh, those grains of sand! Where would our lives be without writers who take … Continue reading Highlights from 2024’s Reading List