Best Catholic History Book

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My non-catholic father recently told me he’d like to read a book giving the history of the Catholic Church. I looked at a few in the book store today, but didn’t make any purchases. I would feel much more comfortable buying a book that comes with the recommendations of the traditionally-minded Catholics on this forum. In that regard, which book on Catholic history would you reccommend? I’m looking for something that avoids the demonizing of the Church that so many outsiders think passes for history, yet I don’t want anything that is inaccesible to non-catholics, or might alienate someone from a remarkably different background (he’s non-practicing, but grew up pentecostal).
 
The Catholic Church,The First 2000 Years by Martha Rasmussen, Ignatius Press,is (in my opinion)a good book.It is an easy read with 368 pages.A good place to start.May our Heavenly Father Bless you.
 
I really liked Fr. John Laux’s “Church History.” It’s published by Tan. I’m not normally a huge history buff, but he managed to tie the threads of the story (heresies, civil strife, barbarians, plagues, etc.) in a way that made sense, and helped me see how one thing affected another.

Margaret
 
I would recommend Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H.W. Crocker with the caveat that it may not satisfy your last-mentioned criteria. This book, written by a convert from Anglicanism, is a refreshingly unapologetic celebration of Catholic history. In other words biased, politically incorrect and a wonderful, engaging read! If you want a book that thinks Luther was just peachy, this isn’t it. I think it’s out of print, but I also think I saw it at a Borders not that long ago.* A brawling, colorful history full of inspiring pageantry and spirited polemic, *Triumph will exhilarate, amuse, and infuriate as it extols the glories of Catholic history and the gripping stories of its greatest men and women.
-From the Publisher
​
Here are a couple of reviews:

catholicleague.org/research/triumph.htm

http://www.catholicity.com/mccloskey/triumph.html
 
NMJenny said:
There is a good book, written for teenagers, in the late 1930s, called *The Story of the Church, *which you can find used, from Amazon.com, for $13.50. Although not specifically written for adults, it is not childish. The fact that the text is slightly less complicated would make it a good read for a non-Catholic.

You can see sample pages from the book at amazon.com/Story-Church-George-Johnson/dp/089555156X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213483885&sr=1-1…
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I have a 1930’s hardback version of this book. I treasure it.
 
KCT said:
I have a 1930’s hardback version of this book. I treasure it.
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Thank you so very much, KCT–I didn’t realize that a hardcover edition of this book was available. After reading your post, I did some googling, and found an edition in fairly good condition for only $6.00, which will be on its way to my house Monday morning…:clapping:
 
I second your vote for Crocker’s book Cranch.

I am sorry to hear that it is out of print; maybe it was too Catholic for these times.
 
yinekka said:
I second your vote for Crocker’s book Cranch.

I am sorry to hear that it is out of print; maybe it was too Catholic for these times.
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As I said, I thought it was out of print, but I’ve since come across this page where it seems that a soft cover version is available. The hard cover is listed in a few places but out of stock, subject to availability, etc. That could be the case here as well if you actually try to buy, but it initially says shipping in three business days which seems promising. This site also lets you read the prologue and the first page of several chapters.
 
I also recommend the above mentioned Triumph. It is a great read!
 
belgianwaffles9 said:
My non-catholic father recently told me he’d like to read a book giving the history of the Catholic Church. I looked at a few in the book store today, but didn’t make any purchases. I would feel much more comfortable buying a book that comes with the recommendations of the traditionally-minded Catholics on this forum. In that regard, which book on Catholic history would you reccommend? I’m looking for something that avoids the demonizing of the Church that so many outsiders think passes for history, yet I don’t want anything that is inaccesible to non-catholics, or might alienate someone from a remarkably different background (he’s non-practicing, but grew up pentecostal).
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By FAR the best:

The “Christendom” series by Warren H. Carroll

Founding Of Christendom: History Of Christendom Vol 1
Building Of Christendom: History Of Christendom Vol 2
Glory Of Christendom: History Of Christendom Vol 3
Cleaving Of Christendom: History Of Christendom Vol 4
The Revolution Against Christendom (essentially Vol 5)
 
Warren Carroll’s 6 volumes has to tell the story of Christendom/Catholicism in greater detail than Harry Crocker’s one volume but I don’t think I will live long enough to read 6 volumes! 🙂
 
yinekka said:
Warren Carroll’s 6 volumes has to tell the story of Christendom/Catholicism in greater detail than Harry Crocker’s one volume but I don’t think I will live long enough to read 6 volumes! 🙂
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I’ve done it! 🙂

Of course, the amount of info retained is “not huge”, shall we say.

BUT, I know where to find just about ANY seemingly trivial occurence in history which is in any way important to Catholic history.

In other words, it’s a great retrospective reference, after spending the necessary 300 hours to skim through it (which is a moderate overestimate).

And I don’t think Volume-6 is quite out yet, though I do recall that Carroll had planned to do six volumes.

Plus, at some $16.50 per volume, that’s what, $82.50+ for the five volumes that are available? It hurts less if you buy one at a time, apparently.
 
Cranch said:
I would recommend Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church by H.W. Crocker with the caveat that it may not satisfy your last-mentioned criteria. This book, written by a convert from Anglicanism, is a refreshingly unapologetic celebration of Catholic history. In other words biased, politically incorrect and a wonderful, engaging read! If you want a book that thinks Luther was just peachy, this isn’t it. I think it’s out of print, but I also think I saw it at a Borders not that long ago.
* A brawling, colorful history full of inspiring pageantry and spirited polemic, *Triumph will exhilarate, amuse, and infuriate as it extols the glories of Catholic history and the gripping stories of its greatest men and women.
​
Click to expand...

I agree–Crocker would be my first choice as a Catholic History. I just checked–**it is available **from Amazon.com.​
 
C and D you put a very good case. I know where to find just about ANY seemingly trivial occurence in history which is in any way important to Catholic history. This has just about convinced me.🙂
The American dollar and the Aussie dollar are pretty close; I might just see if any book stores in Australia stock them. The cost of postage from the USA would be prohibitive.
 
PoliSciProf said:
I agree–Crocker would be my first choice as a Catholic History. I just checked–**it is available **from Amazon.com.
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Just bought the book for NZD 7 from KOBO - available for iPad as an app, but an e-reader like Kindle. 🙂 Cheers for the recommendation!
 
I_Believe said:
No such thing as the best one. Best to read several.

I like Thomas Bokenkotter’s “Concise History of the Catholic Church.”

randomhouse.com/doubleday/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385516136

Don’t forget your local library. Most metro area libraries have several titles.
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I own that one. The use of the word “Concise” in the title makes me giggle a little. We have so much history that even a “concise” history book requires that many pages. 😛
 
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