Why We Should Call Ourselves Christians: The Religious Roots of Free Societies By Marcello Pera (Encounter Books, 224 pages, $23.95) You were taught that pious platitude that you can’t judge a book by its cover. But the truth is that…

Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy By John Julius Norwich (Random House, 528 pages, $30) In his eccentric history of the papacy, Absolute Monarchs, John Julius Norwich is just hitting his stride when he mentions in passing the “hideous persecutions……