This article is a late-arriving Christmas gift. Editors R. R. Reno, Dan Hitchens, and Julia Yost are joined by contributors and columnists (Mary Harrington, Peter J. Leithart, Msgr. Guarino, and more) to reflect on their year in books. The book recommendation I’m most likely to take is Julia’s. She write about Henry Mayhew’s London Labour and the London Poor, a Victorian account of the underclass. Mayhew’s interviews resulted in “a humane and encyclopedic work of social science, capturing ‘the riot, the struggle, and the scramble for a living’ in better prose than any social scientist ever mustered.”

For further reading: Every issue of First Things comes with a handful of book reviews. Some are negative, but some serve as great recommendations. Here are three reviews from 2025 that make me want to buy the books: in “Politics for Losers” (October), Brad East reviews Phil Christman’s Why Christians Should be Leftists, in “Why Twain Endures” (June/July), Mark Bauerlein reviews Ron Chernow’s Mark Twain, and in “Confession Eclipsed” (April), James F. Keating reviews For I Have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America.

From the January issue: Caravaggio, a rake, rascal, murderer, and other things besides, is enormously popular. Why? Jaspreet argues that “We moderns are too saturated with sordid ­images and ideas to understand how to view a Raphael. . . . We are desensitized to his ideals of beauty. By contrast, in our fallen state, we are strongly ­attracted to Caravaggio, who seems as low-minded and appetite-­driven as we are.”

It’s a fascinating (dare I say definitive) piece on the artist. Read it.

For further reading: If you’re in the mood for big, definitive essays on cultural giants, Algis Valiunas’s recent piece on Walker Percy is a great place to start: “Walker Percy’s Pilgrimage” (December 2025). After that, read about Mircea Eliade in Matthew Rose’s “Killing Time” (March 2025).

America was founded in revolution and preserved through war. What role then do peace and harmony play in the national imagination? Christopher J. Motz uses the mural of Lady Peace in West Point’s Old Cadet Chapel to argue that the moral core of America’s armed forces lies in religious freedom. He makes reference to George Washinton, Abraham Lincoln, and Harry Truman. Motz writes that Truman “was convicted by the belief that at the heart of America’s purpose was the defense of ‘spiritual values—the moral code—against the vast forces of evil.’”

For further reading: Recently, Miles Smith wrote about “Restoring the Chaplain Corps’ Moral Backbone.” Like Motz, Smith recognizes a politicized moral degredation in the armed forces, and like Motz, he sees a solution.

Upcoming Events

• February 1, 2026: Second Annual Neuhaus Lecture at the New College of Florida: “Recovering the University’s Soul” ft. Bishop Robert Barron | Sarasota, FL. Register here.

• March 5, 2026: Annual D.C. Lecture: “Our Crisis is Metaphysical” ft. Mary Harrington | Washington, D.C. Details coming soon.

Until next time,

JACOB AKEY

Associate Editor