The complete online text of The Message by Honoré de Balzac.

Had Balzac been a less masterful novelist, the disreputably profligate fraud in him might have overwhelmed his artistry. Still, the other Balzac, the artist, is tainted by his well-earned reputation for what has been called artistic license or dishonesty...

The French novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) was the first writer to use fiction to convey the total social scene prevailing within one country at a particular period in its history. Commonly regarded as the founder of social realism, he also...

Tuesday, October 10, 2006 THE MESSAGE In a city asking itself tough questions about street violence and how to combat it, the most eloquent voices just might be those heard on a new music video starring four rap artists intimately familiar with...

Black men taking responsibility, and encouraging responsibility from their young men, is wholesome. Few would contest that the African-American male is in crisis. Disproportionate numbers are directionless, drug addicted and in jail. Any effort that increases real acceptance of personal responsibility deserves praise....

The 2008 race for the White House is now revving into high gear as the biggest primaries appear on the horizon for early February. The excitement in the news media is close to a roar, though most Americans are considerably less interested.By now, the candidates'...

Lake Forest It was the onerous chore he avoided for months: Write the book.It was to be a sequel to an earlier book, “The Purpose-Driven Church,” a church-growth primer that sold a surprising 1 million copies.Now his publisher was on the phone, asking Saddleback Church...