Good History of the Catholic Church Book

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I wanted to ask the tradition Catholic minds on this forum if there is an agreed consensus of a really good history of the Catholic Church in print? Which would be the best for me to go to.
 
codefro said:
I wanted to ask the tradition Catholic minds on this forum if there is an agreed consensus of a really good history of the Catholic Church in print? Which would be the best for me to go to.
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I reccomend “Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church” by H.W. Crocker. Admittedly, I have not read it as it will be arriving tomorrow. However upon looking at its table of contents on Amazon, its page count (512), and its reviews, I reccomend thus. I have become very eager to read this book and can’t wait for it to arrive.

EDIT: One other book I thought of is “Vicars of Christ: A History of the Popes” by Charles Coulombe. Though it is obviously focused on the Popes, it does go in depth as to the sentiment of the world outside of the Papacy. It also has a few useful encyclicals in the back from notable Popes such as Pius IX, Pius X, and Leo XIII.

(Links in the respective titles)

~ Pius :knight1:
 
codefro said:
I wanted to ask the tradition Catholic minds on this forum if there is an agreed consensus of a really good history of the Catholic Church in print? Which would be the best for me to go to.
Click to expand...
I’ve mentioned this book before on the forum:
Priests, Prelates and People: A History of European Catholicism since 1750

It gives one the sense of the incredible depth of the Church in modern Europe, destroying the monolithic Church myth and a great many other anti-Catholic shibboleths. The single review mentions that its written by two non-Catholic secular authors: this is actually a strength, as it allows an intelligent Catholic reader to draw the necessary conclusions from relatively objective research.

I got mine at one of the many Half-Price Books here in Texas. I recommend shopping at these stores, even if you don’t like my book, because there are a lot of solid, scholarly books on Catholicism given to young men/women by pious aunties and family that are then apparently unread and sold at HP Books. 🤷 All the more cheap books for me. 😃 **
 
For a great introductory book I would recommend thomas bokenkotter’s book A Concise History of the Catholic Church.

And for a good broad history, history of christianity by paul johnson. Reads very easily and provides numerous sources you can track down and follow up on.
 
michaelmas said:
For a great introductory book I would recommend thomas bokenkotter’s book A Concise History of the Catholic Church.
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The reviews on Amazon don’t look very encouraging for this one. What did you like most about it?

~ Pius :knight1:
 
I’ve read Crocker’s Triumph. Practically speaking, it is the best I’ve seen. He’s very biased though, and is hostile towards Protestantism (he is a former Anglican though, so its ok…). He covers all the crusades, the inquisition, and the Protestant reformation in good depth, and argues against all the myths we’ve heard in history class. My major complaint is how little the Eastern Church is covered, especially post-schism; a lot could’ve been added to counter some schism myths as well. What it may lack there it makes up for in very readable language.

Sean Hannity recommends it as well. Not sure if that helps or hurts…
 
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