Ah, Wills

The conclave begins today.  It may take a few days, so this is a good time to catch up on your reading.  May we recommend Garry Wills?

Ah, Wills. The protege of William F. Buckley who became a scourge of the American right, the man who inspired a generation of activists to learn Greek by reading the new testament in jail after some protests, the Catholic who despises Kennedy, the friend of King and the Berrigans, the man who warned Obama about Afghanistan and wasn't invited back to the White House.

We admire his book on the Gettysburg Address, a rhetorical analysis which begins with the development of the modern cemetery, and are eager to read his books on Jesus, Paul, Augustine and (especially) Ambrose.

If you haven't read any of his many books and essays, we encourage you to do so.  For more of an introduction, here is an admiring profile by Sam Tanenhaus, and an explanation, by Michael McDonald, of why conservatives find Wills so unbearable.