I have always enjoyed Michael Farrell's work as a journalist and commentator. It was not surprising to see that he had turned to fiction writing, and this is an excellent first novel.

It is hard to find well-written, intelligent espionage fiction these days. When is the next book coming out?

PAPABILE: The Man Who Would Be Pope, by Michael J. Farrell, Crossroad, 1998.

For many years we've been reading Michael Farrell in the National Catholic Reporter. There was a suspicion that he was cloaking vast erudition in a veil of edgy humor and pungent style. Over the years, his articles on various aspects of current religion, from Zarathustrianism to Buddhism to Vedanta, betrayed a subterranean religious strength. But, whether because it was of his own interest, or the major concern of the top-class paper for which he wrote and of which he is now editor, Roman Catholicism was his major concern.

Several years ago he began to do a regular humor page under the enigmatic headline SIC! Since then, each week, on receiving the paper (NCR) in the mail, our reading friends (including professorial colleagues), like ourselves, first turn to look for the SIC! page. It is there that one finds the flair and verve which distinguish Farrell's writing

When word of Farrell's novel, Papabile, leaked (to borrow from the current lexicon of tabloid-laden political jargon) there was a ready readership in our home, and among fellow-readers.

Papabile is more than a good novel; it is a great experience. It is a book about faith, a quest of fidelity. The muscular Christianity of it, the non-trendy piety, the torment of religious probing at its deepest, bespeak a Dostoyeskian torment. Others have noted the headlong rushing stream of the story. But, no matter how gripping, it is not the story that matters. It is the agony of what Victor Frankl called "man's search for meaning."

It is a given that readers, like the protagonist, are true to their convictions. What is not a given is which, among conflicting claims, is deserving of conviction and fidelity. Papabile neither preaches nor teaches; it airs the raw anxiety of a soul seared and torn apart by conflicting polar fidelity-claims. To believe or not to believe, that is the question. Papabile is as serious an attempt to portray the dilemma as one is likely to find in our time.

Denis (Ph.D.) and Marlene Hickey

An idealistic young man becomes a fervent communist. They ask him to become a model priest and infiltrate the church. He does. And a bishop. The plot thickens deliciously. He is an idealist, he is pulled by the faith he abhors, he oscillates between communist and priest. The lure of the book is the surgical precision with which Farrell describes each temptation to believe and not believe. Either one becomes emotionally possible. I found the depth and precision deeply satisfying. In a strange way, Farrell frees the reader by giving better and worse reasons for whatever position s/he holds. I couldn't put it down, even after the book was safely back on my shelf.

This was the first woodworking how-to book I bought and it has been very informative and I reference it often. With many helpful photos, the author does a good job of explaining all of the basic woodworking fundamentals (how to 4-square wood, how to cut joints, different projects, etc.). There is also a balance between using machines and hand tools. Recommended.

Looked over the book in a local bookstore and was intrigued by the furniture designs found in the book. Picked it up and found that the projects were as simple to make as indicated in the plans. Would highly recommend the book for weekend workshop hobbyists who want woodworking projects that are challenging and rewarding to work with.

Written in an easy-to-read style, this history of Baltimore's streetcars covers the entire period of operations from City Passenger in 1859 through close of operations in 1963. The book is an update of the original _Who Made All Our Streetcars Go_, including new material on Baltimore's current light rail system. The book also includes a series of vignettes about streetcars, which bring life to the history portion. In addition, there are hundreds of photographs, illustrations and maps.

This book reads more like a story than a history book, and I enjoyed it very much because of the accessible writing style, the subject matter and the photographs. Anyone interested in streetcars or old-time Baltimore should find this book fascinating.

A few years ago I wrote a research paper for a college class in the psychology of personality. I read extensively from the literature on men at midlife and this book by Farrell and Rosenberg stood out for it's sensitive, penetrating and revealing portrait of what can be a difficult time in the lives of American men. Though a work of research backed by numerical data, this is a book that is readable cover to cover. The authors not only look unsparingly at the demands that our society makes on males but also thoroughly review the different schools of thought on maturation and put these to the test. They find actual "crisis" at midlife to be uncommon but describe a denial of the true self as the rule for a majority of men. Also related is the difference that class makes in the likelihood of satisfaction at midlife. This book is the standard by which I would compare any work on male midlife and I can't recommend it too highly.

Farrell's "Northern Ireland: The Orange State" is tough to find but well worth the effort for those seriously interested in the history and politics of Northern Ireland. Written in 1976 by a committed Irish republican and socialist, this not the book for someone with no prior background in Northern Irish history. Yet the same characteristics that make it unsuitable for newcomers to the topic -- its age and biased viewpoint -- make it valuable for students of Northern Ireland.

Farrell's history is not simply a curiosity, however. His treatment of Northern Ireland's early history (1920s through 1950s) is far more in-depth than more recent texts, which tend to gloss over the state's formation and pick up the story with the beginning of the present "Troubles" in the late 1960s. Additionally, Farrell is a good history writer and his narrative style is often more engaging than more recent, balanced accounts. Those who read extensively on Northern Ireland and wish to add a unique volume to their shelves would do well to track down a copy of this book.