Tom Deignan, a regular NCR contributor, has written about books for The Washington Post and New York Times. The author of Coming to America: Irish Americans, he is working on a book about Ellis Island immigrants.
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Book Review
75 years later, 'Prince of Darkness' continues to humanize priesthood
James Farl Powers' first short story collection, Prince of Darkness and Other Stories, was published 75 ago, kicking off a celebrated career dedicated to the messy lives of Catholic priests.
Book Review
Book aims to undo the tangles of race and Catholicism
Undoing the Knots makes a valid case that "Catholic tradition could be better harnessed to make decisions rooted in justice rather than fear." But its quest for "racial mercy" is often guided by flawed historical details.
'Sopranos' creator David Chase talks about Catholicism, 1967 Newark Rebellion
Movies: In telling the fictional mobster Tony Soprano's coming-of-age story set in the 1960s, "The Many Saints of Newark" highlights the real history of the city's immigrant Catholic and African American communities.
Book Review
20 years later, what can Russo's 'Empire Falls' teach us about Catholic faith?
Book review: God, praised for benevolence, scolded for inscrutability, is a presence in Richard Russo's Empire Falls. "You probably suspect," Russo once told an audience, "I was an altar boy straight through high school."
