Histories of the Cold War era, novels by authors new and not-so-new, meditations on spirituality: These are some of the works discussed by our Christmas critics.

The press and the public prefer to make parents of disabled kids into saints, and to accept and justify whatever actions those parents choose to take.

Where do the desires that direct your life find their source? And how and when do they assert themselves through all unlikelihood and doubt?

To her fans—and there are many, from critic James Wood to Barack Obama—Robinson shows that old-fashioned virtues like seriousness and simplicity are still virtues.

Scotland voted “No” to independence by 55 to 45 percent. But my referendum-day journey provides a clue to what was happening in Scotland in the summer of 2014.

Laws that once upheld the "traditional views" of marriage social conservatives advocate were dismantled piece by piece because they inflicted other moral costs.

Sexual misdeeds, false identities, cult worship, theft, and murder; if this astonishing tale were not true, it could be the work of an accomplished mystery writer.

From its inception Amazon has sought to disrupt the traditional bookselling market. Now France is trying to disrupt Amazon while protecting independent bookstores.

November 16, 1414, saw the opening at Constance of a general council of the Latin Church, an event of great and historic significance. Will we hear much about it?