Benedict Books

This is a fresh new look at a man who is only remembered for treason. Without Benedict Arnold, the British might have won the revolution, and the author goes to great lengths to prove his point. Even though the book is fiction, it makes you ask the question. Was Arnold a tratior? Or in the end was he acting on behalf of the people of America against what he was seeing develop as a new corrupt government for our new nation? The book is a must read for Revolutionary War fanatics.

Ages 3-6 will relish Dinosaur Chase, a spirited story of one Fin the dinosaur, who has spindly legs and is fluffy and is picked on by a gang of bullies for his many quirks. Funny drawings and easy reading lends to the story of a young dinosaur's hidden talents.

Excellent! Great read on the history and Scripture references to Divine Mercy of the Jesus. Really helps understand the tradition and where it came from.

This small text is a gem for any Catholic who is looking to edify his or her understandings of the central precepts of Catholic theology. Overall, it is organized in as a series of small lectures and homilies which trace the Church's dogma throughout the liturgical year. Each selected text treats on a specific day in the Church's calendar and the theological implications thereof. The short works of the masterful Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger echo all of his central theological themes while remaining very accessible to those who are not formal theologians. Insightful to the whole of the text is Ratzinger's discussion of what it means to be a Christian in light of Dogmatic Christology and what his experience of that meaning is. In this brief introduction to the text, the reader is afforded an opportunity to see the kernel of the thought of the man who is now Pope Benedict XVI.

Because of the somewhat-varied nature of this text, it is difficult to review it as a comprehensive whole. Perhaps the greatest unifying factor of the text is the fact that it is an exposition of dogma as something which is a leaven for humanity. Each short essay / homily cannot be defined with the contemporary definition for "dogmatic" but instead truly explains that dogma allows for the fullness of humanity to be experienced. Because of this, I recommend this text to those who are Catholics looking for a deeper awareness of the feasts of the liturgical year and dogmas of the Church. Additionally, I think the text serves as an excellent overview of major portions of Catholicism for non-Catholics, although it is nowhere close to being extensive. Overall, it is a thought-provoking, edifying read.

u want to live the Gospel? work the Gospel? Understand the Gospel? Appreciate the Gospel? Love the Gospel?...then study this Order! read this book! Pray, Pray, Pray...Unceasingly!
these Beautiful men and women are trying to save the world, one soul at a time. Beautiful works of mercy, charity and love!
God Bless You!!

This is just a fun, fun book; once you start reading it, it's hard to stop. The author manages to sweep much more into it than you'll find in a mere sightseeing guidebook--historical anecdotes, interesting characters, the author's experience of working as a journalist in the London press, and more.

I bought the book with the object of planning walks to interesting sites, with emphasis on "not-major-tourist-attractions," on a future visit to London, and am very happy with it. In fact, the author offers up a number of suggested walks around notable sites, with reference to modern features, geography and history all woven in to one seamless discussion. If you stop to have a drink in each of the notable pubs, you might not finish the walks, so keep yourself to half a pint...

This book I found was really good for inspiring searches for different things in London. I used it quite extensively for a trip a few years ago. I did have some difficulty locating a few things which I originally attributed to inaccuracies on the part of the writer, but upon further investigation discovered that they did exist as he described them but that I was simply unable to find them (viz. Richard Burton's Tomb in Mortlake, the mysterious Hill Garden in Hampstead Heath). I would advise the reader to research some of the items that he wishes to find on the internet before heading on a wild goose chase. A good supplement to this book is Andrew Duncan's Walking London.

edit: On a second trip to London I found both the tomb using better descriptions of it's location on the interweb and by asking an old woman to help me find a particular street, and the Pagola (hill garden) after many hours of wandering Hampstead Heath and seeing other lovely sites (hint: if you find the Spaniard Inn you are getting closer, and to get in to the garden it looks like you are walking rather close to somebody's house (private property) but if you forge ahead you will be happily rewarded).

This is the most valuable discovery for people looking for philosophically-grounded, classical, yet practicable, approaches to childhood education. Written in the 17th century, Fenelon drew from Aristotlean and other classical sources for timeless truths about the nature of learning and teaching. Here is the wisdom that was lost to the infatuation over psychological approaches to learning in the early 20th century.

A very useful tool for both teachers and students who are learning English for Business at a beginner's level. Absolutely necessary are the tapes accompanying the book. Good sequenced teaching material, didactic, and fun to read and listen to. Highly recommended. Too bad it's out of print and the tapes are not available either.

When I received notice of this book's forthcoming publication, I had my doubts about its quality. I stand corrected in any initial hesitations the anticipation of this volume lent me. I am very pleased with the work done by Thornton and Varenne (two rather `unknowns' in the world of Ratzinger scholarship). This is by far the best general summary of the thought of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI available today! Divided into eight categories of his writings, this book surveys a significant portion of Ratzinger/Benedict's work.

The Introduction by D. Vincent Twomey, SVD, is truly priceless. I cannot say enough about how on-target these remarks are. Perhaps the most striking comment for me can be found in the first paragraph of his intro: "Students of theology who quoted him [Ratzinger] were punished by their liberal professors, and those professors who did quote him - he is eminently quotable - would not reveal their source, lest the quote be rejected." (xvii). This has been my own experience and a real shame indeed. Having been on both sides of the above-mentioned fence, I can relate the disappointment that comes in feeling that one has to preemptively screen Ratzinger-inspired comments due to the tendency for the audience to dismiss or ridicule the remark solely because of hearsay-based reputation assigned to the thinker.

It is my hope that this collection of easily accessible nuggets of Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict's thought and insight might help the greater community of professional theologians, as well as "armchair theologians," take the work of a theological giant of our time more seriously.

I do have some critical remarks about this book. The first is the omission of some of the scholarly notes that should accompany the texts. In the preface, the editors explain the notes' absence as allowing better flow and access of the material to the unscholarly: great in theory and intent, poor in practice. I found that to be disappointing. While the editors insist that their omission of contextual introductions to each passage was intended to make the book "about the author" and not "about the editors," I feel - as someone well versed in the theology of Ratzinger - that the novice reader of the material will not have a full appreciation for the snippet outside of its original context. Even a page-long intro providing some background to each document would have sufficed. The book is already 512pp why not another 40 or more elucidating pages?

All in all, I am overjoyed at this work. I certainly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the theology of our current pontiff. While this is not a scholarly survey of the thinker's work (see Aidan Nichols, OP, "The Thought of Benedict XVI" for a more academic survey), I am happy to see a popular publishing company (HarperCollins) take this field seriously and make available a valuable resource accessible to all.