History is a chronological record of significant events (as affecting a nation or institution) often including an explanation of their causes or a branch of knowledge that records and explains past events. In this category you will find our history books - general surveys of history and books related to specific periods of history in the Church such as the Patristic Era or the Middle Ages.

"History is the witness that testifies to the passing of time; it illuminates reality, vitalizes memory, provides guidance in daily life, and brings us tidings of antiquity." Cicero

Here are 33 chapters about some of the greatest minds and greatest Saints the Catholic Church has ever produced. Written in a down-to-earth style, The 33 Doctors of the Church is a book that will be loved and appreciated by everyone. This monumental study could easily become 33 small books. But here it is in one compelling volume! This book was undertaken by the author, a Capuchin Franciscan …

David Berger Rightly renowned for his articulation of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist by transubstantiation, St. Thomas deserves also to be regarded as a master of liturgics. As Berger shows, St. Thomas provides a supremely incarnational view of the Christian liturgy, in which man, as a body-soul unity, is drawn with the angels into Christ's redemptive sacrifice. "Should be on the …

The son of a brewer, Thomas Cromwell rose from obscurity to become the confidant of the King and one of the most influential men in British history. Cromwell drafted the law that allowed Henry VIII to divorce his first wife and marry Anne Boleyn, setting into motion the brutal Protestant Reformation. Over the course of his career, Cromwell amassed a fortune through bribery and theft, and …

As she examines the many misconceptions about the "Middle Ages", the renown French historian, Regine Pernoud, gives the reader a refreshingly original persepective on many subjects, both historical (from the Inquisition and witchcraft trials to a comparison of Gothic and Renaissance creative inspiration) as well as eminently modern (from law and the place of women in society to the …

For 2,000 years, Catholicism - the largest religion in the world and in the United States - has shaped global history on a scale unequaled by any other institution. But until now, Catholics interested in their faith have been hard-pressed to find an accessible, affirmative, and exciting history of the Church. Triumph is that history. Inside, you'll discover the spectacular story of the …

Muhammad: a frank look at his influential (and violent) life and teachings In The Truth about Muhammad , New York Times bestselling author and Islam expert Robert Spencer offers an honest and telling portrait of the founder of Islam—perhaps the first such portrait in half a century—unbounded by fear and political correctness, unflinching, and willing to face the hard facts about Muhammad’s …

Drawing on his years of experience as a Catholic writer, Philip Trower offers a long view of how the Church has arrived in its present situation. Wheareas many analyses take the Second Vatican Council as their starting point, Trower turns his gaze back towards the previous centuries, searching out the roots of modern conflicts over authority within the Church, the nature of Scripture, the …

How much do we really know about the lives of the Twelve Apostles? What did they do after Calvary? Where did they go? Since the Twelve Apostles left no detailed information about themselves behind, how is it possible to gather information as to their fate? While you could search through dozens of sources and hundreds of books for information on these apostles, C. Bernard Ruffin has collected …

Mother Mary Magdalen Taylor (Historical novel of the time of Saint Edmond Campion). The late Fr. Philip Fletcher called Tyborne the “pioneer work” on the English Martyrs, and Cardinal Logue confessed that he could not lay down the story ‘til the end. Let us hope that the readers of today will equally enjoy Tyborne dressed as it is in all its Victorian garb and rich in graphic …

Understanding Early Christian Art offers an insightful, erudite and lavishly illustrated analysis of the meaning and message of early Christianity as revealed in the texts and images of its first practitioners. Robin Margaret Jensen examines the motifs and subjects of early Christian art, integrating them with the symbols and themes of Christian literature and liturgy. Beginning with an …

Etienne Gilson The best summary of this book is in the authors words from the forword: "It is the proper aim and scope of the present book to show that the history of philosophy makes philosophical sense, and to define its meaning in regard to the nature of philosophical knowledge itself. For that reason, the various doctrines, as well as the definite parts of these doctrines, which have been …

As an Evangelical Protestant, Stephen Ray realized that the real issue dividing Catholics and Protestants was authority. Everything else was secondary to the issue of authority. Protestants accept the authority of the Bible alone, whereas Catholics understand the authority to be residing in the Magisterium, the Scriptures and the Sacred Tradition. Ray goes through the Scriptures and writings …

Utopia is a collection of over two dozen of Chesterton's most trenchant essays on what Capitalism is, and how bad it is, in both precise and readable terms.  He cuts to the core, and tears away polite illusion and pathetic excuses, demonstrating that modern Capitalism stands condemned not only by the Catholic Faith but by the sane view of the world.  Not for the ideologically …

Robert Graham, S.J. The discrediting of Communism as a world ideology also put in crisis a certain way of writing history. That is why, a half-century after the end of World War II, the search is on for a fresh look. The European intellectual class is dismayed and disoriented. Their world, so dependent on Marxist-Leninist ideas, collapsed around them. In the United States writers never took …

Alan Schrek Whatever happened to the Second Vatican Council?  Has the Catholic CHurch backed away from its teachings?  What, exactly, were those teachings?  Did the Council stand for the renewal of the liturgy, for example, or its destruction?  Did it bring the Church into the world, or has it allowed the world to infiltrate the Church? On the occasion of the fortieth …

“For those who are dissatisfied when Jesus is depicted as our friend but not as our Savior and our Lord.” — Most Rev. John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark Here at last is a fully accurate portrait of Jesus, free of the biases and wishful thinking that mar many other books about our Lord. In constructing this enlightening and well-rounded look at Christ, Fr. A. G. Sertillanges delved deeply into …

From the pious to the practical, the reflections of the Fathers of the Church cover virtually every aspect of the Christian life. Noted author Mike Aquilina has compiled their ancient axioms into a concise collection of comments designed for busy, modern readers. Pray with the poetry of St. Gregory Nazianzen. Find clear direction in the practical advice of St. Jerome. And, let your heart turn …

We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI by Matthew Bunson Matthew Bunson brings his deep knowledge and understanding of Catholic history and Faith to this biography of our new Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. Here's your chance to learn more about this remarkable man in an easily readable, yet meticulously researched book. In these pages you'll read about his early life in Germany, his growth and …

This book will be released on October 15, 2009. This book addresses the shifting identity of Ruthenians on both sides of Orthodox/Uniate divide. The dissolution of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the late 18th century and the incorporation of the majority of the Ruthenians - ethnic Ukrainians and Belarusians - into the Russian Empire from the backdrop for confessional history critical to …