Timothy Egan's newest book, A Pilgrimage to Eternity (Viking, $28), is part travelogue, part history, and part
religious narrative. As he treads the Via Francigena, an ancient pilgrim route that starts in Canterbury, England,
and ends in Rome, Italy, Egan traces this history of Europe and Catholicism and weaves in his own family's story.
He comes to the route with his eyes open, both to the wonder of the landscape he is walking through—described
in elegant prose that makes me long for the clear air of the Alps and the sun-soaked hills of Italy—and to the truths
that history lays at our feet. Though the book is written with a Twain-esque twinkle, Egan isn't afraid to address
the big questions of faith, violence, and the tumultuous present of our world and institutions. He writes about the
landscape with as much reverence as he does the relics, and addresses history and philosophical musings with
a liveliness and humility that come from placing one foot in front of the other. A Pilgrimage to Eternity is charming,
insightful, beautiful, and leaves the reader with just a little bit of hope that maybe faith and love can help save a
person after all.