Catholic readers should not expect an in-depth reaffirmation of their faith, but they may enjoy dipping into the memories...
Simple and honest essays, recollections, and quotations on contemporary Catholic faith and culture in America today.
As promised, this collection offers dozens of answers to the question “Do you like being Catholic?” and to its natural followup: “Why?” The responses are celebrations of favorite prayers, Christmas Masses, Catholic music and literature, and the lives of heroic and “average” Catholics—told by well-known and unknown Catholics. Editors Leach and Borchard include several of their own pieces in the set, such as Leach’s “Ten Good Reasons to Raise Your Kids Catholic” and Borchard’s “There’s Something About Mary.” While both of these titles suggest a comic slant, however, the essays—and the collection as a whole—fall short on wit and entertainment value. Still, the writing is honest, warm, and uncomplicated, conveying authors' devotion to their faith and to the Catholic community. Highlights include best of Catholic culture picks—amusing yet somewhat predictable top-ten lists of the best Catholic novels and movies (think: Ulysses, A Man for all Seasons, etc.). Also featured throughout are a flurry of quotes by well-known Catholics from Martin Scorsese and Flannery O’Connor to Mario Cuomo and Yogi Berra. But while the editors have collected material from a broad scope of the 63 million American Catholics, the result is a choppy stream of soundbites that never truly gets beneath the surface.
Catholic readers should not expect an in-depth reaffirmation of their faith, but they may enjoy dipping into the memories and sentiments of those who share their religious heritage.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-385-49951-5
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2000
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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