Suggested books?

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danzibr

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I was going to post this in the book section but I can’t, hrm. If a mod wishes to redirect it, by all means.

Anyway, so my wife wants to get me some books for Valentine’s Day (I’m supposed to figure them out). I come to you all for suggestions. Here’s what I have so far.

I’m reading Frank Sheed’s Theology and Sanity online and I think it’s terrific. I’ll ask her for a physical copy of it.

My history knowledge is very, very weak. I was hoping for a good history that parallels the Old Testament and New Testament. But because my history is so weak I’m not sure the right book to get.

I’ve had the authors Romano Guardini, Hans Kung, John Henry Newman and Henri Daniel-Rops suggested to me by someone I trust. However, again I’m not sure what exactly to look for.

I should also mention I’m a novice Catholic. In fact I’m not Catholic yet, still in RCIA. I’m mostly through Catholicism for Dummies and I do reading and memorization on the side.

Long story short, I’m looking for a good old history book for someone weak in history and books which border the philosophy-theology line.

EDIT: I also liked The Action Bible 😛
 
The best book I’ve ever read on salvation history as seen in the Old and New Testaments is a high school textbook from the Didache series written by Dr. Scott Hahn. It is called “Understanding the Scriptures” and can be found here:

Understanding the Scriptures

The cool thing about it is that there is a free podcast available online (and through iTunes) that goes through the book chapter by chapter. Both the book and podcast are of high quality (the podcast was done by one of Dr. Hahn’s former students) and it’s like taking a free two semester course on the Sacred Scriptures. I once taught a 20 week Bible study at my parish based primarily on this book and it went really well. Here is the link to the podcast:

Understanding the Scriptures Podcast
 
I highly recommend Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy and the Splendor of Truth by Father Richard John Neuhaus. One of the best, most eloquent books I’ve ever read. You can’t go wrong with Fulton Sheen, Scott Hahn and Thomas Howard. 👍
 
danzibr said:
My history knowledge is very, very weak. I was hoping for a good history that parallels the Old Testament and New Testament. But because my history is so weak I’m not sure the right book to get.

I’ve had the authors Romano Guardini, Hans Kung, John Henry Newman and Henri Daniel-Rops suggested to me by someone I trust. However, again I’m not sure what exactly to look for.

I should also mention I’m a novice Catholic. In fact I’m not Catholic yet, still in RCIA. I’m mostly through Catholicism for Dummies and I do reading and memorization on the side.
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I would just say to stay away from Kung. I got one of his books on audio from the library. I started listening to it one night and had to turn it off. He was awful. His book started by saying negative things about the church. I would not recommend it.

As for someone’s suggestion about Scott Hahn, I have always enjoyed his books. Since you are in RCIA, you may like them as well since he is a fellow convert.
 
Dr. Alan Schreck has a “Compact History Of The Catholic Church.” I haven’t read it, but have read 2 of his other works and I highly recommend him. His writing style is easily excessible, hits all the main points without being confusing, and appears to be knowledgeable.
 
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