Posts by Brian Bethune

Brian Bethune

Maclean's Senior writer

Brian Bethune writes about ideas, books and the book trade, and religion, but what really interests him is why people believe what they believe.

‘Nana & Flint’ are forensic reconstructions of the Gibraltar 1 (Forbes’ Quarry, 1848) and Gibraltar 2 (Devil’s Tower Shelter Cave, 1926) Neanderthal fossils by Dutch artists Kennis & Kennis. (S. Finlayson)

The new Neanderthals

Acclaimed writer Claire Cameron’s title character is strong, sexy, smart and, yes, a redhead

April 19th, 2017

The Maclean’s Bestsellers list: Week of April 18

From Greg Iles to The Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, these are the hottest fiction and non-fiction titles of the week

April 18th, 2017 1 comment

Canada’s first female infantry officer breaks silence on abuse

After decades of relative silence, Sandra Perron says of her remarkable new book: “I felt guilty for having these secrets all my adult life.”

April 18th, 2017 1 comment

An actor hangs from a cross during the re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ during Holy Week at Mi Peru

What is the real meaning of the cross?

Its position in Christianity has evolved dramatically, and the cross remains today as central and as debated an icon as ever

April 13th, 2017 17 comments

The Maclean’s Bestsellers list: Week of April 11

From Neil Gaiman’s Norse Mythology to Tim Cook’s Vimy, these are the hottest fiction and non-fiction titles of the week

April 11th, 2017

Return to Vimy Ridge

John Newell took part in the 1936 Pilgrimage to Vimy—and 81 years later will be there again with some rare mementos to share

April 5th, 2017

The Maclean’s Bestsellers list: Week of April 4

From George Saunders to Trevor Noah, these are the hottest fiction and non-fiction titles of the week

April 4th, 2017

The Maclean’s Bestsellers list: Week of Mar. 26

From Neil Gaiman to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, these are the hottest fiction and non-fiction titles of the week

March 28th, 2017

The Nova Scotia Highlanders, marching through Belgium in World War One 1914. (Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

How Canada’s bloodiest day at Vimy defined Great War sacrifice

Canadians think of Vimy Ridge as the moment our nation came of age. It is less than that—and more, too.

March 27th, 2017 3 comments

The Maclean’s Bestsellers list: Week of Mar. 19

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s new book debuts in the top spot of our non-fiction list. See what else flew off the shelves

March 21st, 2017

A placard warning against the dangers of climate change used in the March on Washington stands by an overflowing garbage can January 21st 2017, up to 500,000 marchers had protested earlier in DC and estimates of five million nationwide campaigned for legislation and policies regarding human rights, women's rights, immigration reform, healthcare reform, the natural environment, LGBTQ rights, racial equality and freedom of religion in response to the newly elected presidency of Donald Trump. (Epics/Getty Images)

Why Americans have come to worship their own ignorance

Author Tom Nichols argues that people are angry at journalists for giving them what they want: pared-down stories tailored to them

March 20th, 2017 28 comments

Kastrup.Copenhagen.Denmark 24 July 2015 The new Webster encyclopedic dictionary of the english language includin a dictionary of synonym and teelves supplementary reference sections (Francis Dean/Corbis/Getty Images)

A dictionary editor’s concession: Language is ‘really squishy’

A Q&A with Kory Stamper, an editor at Merriam-Webster and author of ‘Word By Word,’ on profanity, and the politics of language

March 14th, 2017

Water Lilies, 1916 by Claude Monet. Found in the collection of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. (Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Gilding the lilies: Ross King wins the 2017 RBC Taylor Prize

King’s fourth nomination served up a win that studies of a much younger Monet, Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci did not

March 6th, 2017

The Maclean’s Bestsellers list: Week of Feb. 28

Canadian author Heather O’Neill’s newest novel debuts near the peak of our fiction list, while ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ remains timely atop the non-fiction books

February 28th, 2017

Q&A: Author Viet Thanh Nguyen on the ghosts that haunt refugees

One of the Vietnamese boat people, the author arrived in the U.S. when he was four, and now writes about his people’s experience

February 27th, 2017