The Catholic Book Club discussion

It is time to vote for our May BOTM.

You may vote for up to two of the books listed below.

Enter your votes by replying in this thread.

Voting will end at approximately 5:00 Central time on April 18.

A book will be randomly selected for elimination from the nominations list from among those that don't receive any votes. The two new books added to the voting list this month, Sword and Serpent, by Taylor R. Marshall and The Spiritual Combat, by Lorenzo Scupoli, will be excluded from the Randomizer.

The books up for consideration for the May 2018 BOTM are:

Champions of the Rosary: The History and Heroes of a Spiritual Weapon, by Donald H. Calloway. From the best-selling author of the classic Catholic conversion story, No Turning Back: A Witness to Mercy by Fr. Donald H. Calloway, comes a powerful and comprehensive history of a spiritual weapon: the rosary.

The Gunpowder Plot, by Antonia Fraser
Antonia Fraser, a popular historian, has delved into archives across Europe to unravel the true story of the plot by fanatical Roman Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament and King James I at the opening of Parliament in 1605.

The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine, by Eusebius.
Eusebius's account is the only surviving historical record of the Church during its crucial first 300 years. Bishop Eusebius, a learned scholar who lived most of his life in Caesarea in Palestine, broke new ground in writing the History and provided a model for all later ecclesiastical historians. In tracing the history of the Church from the time of Christ to the Great Persecution at the beginning of the fourth century, and ending with the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, his aim was to show the purity and continuity of the doctrinal tradition of Christianity and its struggle against persecutors and heretics.

The Life of St. Catharine of Sienna, by Raymond of Capua
One of the key works on St. Catharine's life, written shortly after her death by her spiritual director.

Looking for the King, by David C. Downing
It is 1940, and American Tom McCord, a 23-year-old aspiring doctoral candidate, is in England researching the historical evidence for the legendary King Arthur. There he meets perky and intuitive Laura Hartman, a fellow American staying with her aunt in Oxford, and the two of them team up for an even more ambitious and dangerous quest.
Weaving his fast-paced narrative with actual quotes from the works of the Inklings, author David Downing offers a vivid portrait of Oxford and draws a welcome glimpse into the personalities and ideas of Lewis and Tolkien, while never losing sight of his action-packed adventure story and its two very appealing main characters.

A Martyr for the Truth: Jerzy Popieuszko, by Grazyna Sikorska

The Myth of Hitler's Pope: Pope Pius XII And His Secret War Against Nazi Germany, by David G. Dalin
In 1999, John Cornwell excoriated Pope Pius XII as "Hitler's Pope." In this book, Rabbi David G. Dalin provides a ringing defense of the wartime pontiff, arguing that Holocaust-era Jews justly regarded Pius as their protector, not their tormentor.

On the God of the Christians:, by Rémi Brague -
[The book description on GR is in French. The following is excerpted from Amazon, which indicates it is from the back cover of the book.]
On the God of the Christians tries to explain how Christians conceive of the God whom they worship. No proof for His existence is offered, but simply a description of the Christian image of God.

The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming, by Henri J.M. Nouwen
A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt's painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son, catapulted Henri Nouwen into a long spiritual adventure. In his highly-acclaimed book of the same title, he shares the deeply personal meditation that led him to discover the place within which God has chosen to dwell. This Lent course, which has been adapted from the book, helps us to reflect on the meaning of the parable for our own lives. Divided into five sessions, the course moves through the parable exploring our reaction to the story: the younger son's leaving and return, the father's restoration of sonship, the elder son's resentment and the father's compassion. All of us who have experienced loneliness, dejection, jealousy or anger will respond to the persistent themes of homecoming, affirmation and reconciliation.

Scarlet Pimpernel Of The Vatican, by J.P. Gallagher.
To thousands of people escaping- Allied prisoners, refugees, Jews and others wanted for various reasons by the Nazis - one of the greatest heros of WW11 was a tall, jolly Irish Priest, Monsignor Hugh Joseph O'Flaherty. Working throughout the warat the Vatican, he organised, unofficially an incredibly efficient underground system which gave shelter to inumerable escapes. This very readable account of his adventures is an exciting story and throws some interesting light on one of the lesser-known aspects of the war.

Second Friends: C.S. Lewis and Ronald Knox in Conversation, by Milton Walsh
C. S. Lewis and Ronald Knox were two of the most popular authors of Christian apologetics in the twentieth century ... and for many years they were neighbors in Oxford. In Second Friends, Milton Walsh delves into their writings and compares their views on a variety of compelling topics, such as the existence of God, the divinity of Christ, the problem of suffering, miracles, the way of Love, the role of religion in society, prayer, and more. They both bring to the conversation a passionate love of truth, clarity of thought, and a wonderful wit.

The Spiritual Combat, by Lorenzo Scupoli
The Combat is a practical manual of living. At first it teaches that the sense of life is incessant fighting against egoistic longings and replacing them with sacrifice and charity. The one who does not do this loses, and suffers in Hell; the one who does it, trusting not in his own, but God's power, triumphs and is happy in Heaven. The work of Scupoli analyses various usual situations and advises how to cope with them, preserving a pure conscience and improving virtue. It emphasizes also the boundless goodness of God, which is the cause of all good. What is bad originates from the human who rebels against God.

Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, by Thérèse de Lisieux
Two and a half years before her death in 1897 at the age of 24, as Thérèse Martin began writing down her childhood memories at the request of her blood sisters in the Lisieux Carmel, few could have guessed the eventual outcome. Yet this Story of my soul, first published in 1898 in a highly edited version, quickly became a modern spiritual classic, read by millions and translated into dozens of languages around the world.

Sword and Serpent, by Taylor R. Marshall
In A.D. 299, the Roman oracles ceased to prophesy for the Emperor Diocletian. The silence of the gods sparks a bloody storm of persecution that sweeps across the Roman Empire. As the fires of suspicion and hatred ignite all around them, a young man and a young woman are united by a prophecy from the catacombs of Rome...one that will set them on a journey to battle an evil beyond imagining.

Toward the Gleam, by T.M. Doran
Between the two world wars, on a hike in the English countryside, Professor John Hill takes refuge from a violent storm in a cave. There he nearly loses his life, but he also makes an astonishing discovery — an ancient manuscript housed in a cunningly crafted metal box. Though a philologist by profession, Hill cannot identify the language used in the manuscript and the time period in which it is was made, but he knows enough to make an educated guess — that the book and its case are the fruits of a long-lost, but advanced civilization.

My vote:

On the God of the Christians

History of the Church

Return of the Prodigal Son

Spiritual Combat

The History of the Church by Eusebius

On the God of the Christians
Eusebius

Champions of the Rosary

My votes are for Toward the Gleam, by T.M. Doran and Looking for the King, by David C. Downing.

The Gunpowder Plot, by Antonia Fraser

My vote would be for The Gunpowder Plot, by Antonia Fraser,

Taylor Marshalls is an amazing Historical fiction.
And Calloways Rosay book is excellent as well.

Steven R. wrote: "My vote would be for The Gunpowder Plot, by Antonia Fraser,

Taylor Marshalls is an amazing Historical fiction.
And Calloways Rosay book is excellent as well."

Steven, You are allowed two votes, if you wanted to vote for the Marshall book as well. (Or any of the others).

John wrote: "Steven R. wrote: "My vote would be for The Gunpowder Plot, by Antonia Fraser,

Taylor Marshalls is an amazing Historical fiction.
And Calloways Rosay book is excellent as well."

Steven, You are a..."

I have read about 1/3 of this list. If I were to have a second vote I would love to see what this group thinks of Marshall's. But it is the first in a trilogy. The year it came out I read over 300 books and this was the best fiction one.

Champions of the Rosary
Return of the Prodigal Son
Story of a Soul

Suzanne wrote: "Champions of the Rosary
Return of the Prodigal Son
Story of a Soul"

Suzanne, you are allowed two votes, but have voted for three. Can you choose just two?

Steven R. wrote: "John wrote: "Steven R. wrote: "My vote would be for The Gunpowder Plot, by Antonia Fraser,

Taylor Marshalls is an amazing Historical fiction.
And Calloways Rosay book is excellent as well."

Stev..."
My impression Steven is Taylor R. Marshall was one of the best book that i have ever read in my life. I was, who recomended this book. Two years ago this book won the best book of the year 2016 with "Die under your sky" by Juan Manuel de Prada. If i did not vote for him in this election is because this book had not posibility to be eliminated and for this reason i voted for Toward the gleam and Looking for the King, but in the next vote polls i will vote for The Sword and Serpent Steven. PD. I totally agree with Steven, he only voted for one book, and he praised two books, but he did not vote for them.

Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux

On the God of the Christians (Brague)
Life of St. Catharine

Steven R. wrote: "I have read about 1/3 of this list. If I were to have a second vote I would love to see what this group thinks of Marshall's."

Steve, should we understand from this that your second vote is for "Sword&Serpent"? You do have a second vote.

Manuel wrote: "Steven R. wrote: "I have read about 1/3 of this list. If I were to have a second vote I would love to see what this group thinks of Marshall's."

Steve, should we understand from this that your sec..."

Yes my second vote would be for Sword and Serpent.

My votes go for “The spiritual combat” and “The story of a soul”.

On the God of the Christians

Second Friends

I vote for Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux, by Thérèse de Lisieux

Calloway’s book on the rosary

Spiritual Combat

So many interesting choices this month!
My final two votes; Champions of the Rosary
The Gunpowder Plot

Champions of the Rosary

Voting is closed. Results will be posted shortly.