Tan Books

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Always_Hopeful

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Can someone shed some insight on Tan Books? They are a publisher out of Rockford, IL.
I’ve been impressed with their catalog of Catholic books such as Christian Perfection and Contemplation by Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange and True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis DeMontfort. But troubled by other titles that make the accusation that Vatican II was bad for the Church?
Are these guys a reliable source for continuing Catholic education?
 
I would consider Ignatius Press much better. TAN books has some really good stuff, but they also tend to swerve awfully far into the sede- camp, and from the customer service standpoint, I was once kept waiting for 9 months(!) for one of the books I ordered. (It was well worth it when it got here, but that is ridiculous … the title in question is Canon Francis Ripley’s This Is the Faith).
 
The one good thing is that they’re willing to republish old obscure titles when no one else is. But for them the Church died in 1962 or 1958 or the Council of Trent.

John
 
I’ve ordered from Tan Books myself. I agree I do have problems with some of the titles about Vatican II. I know Catholic Answers carriers some of their titles. I usually save up money out of every paycheck and around October and November when all these publishers put their books on sale. I order a couple of hundred dollars with of stuff for my library or to give away to evangelize. In fact last year I ordered from Catholic Answers “True Devotion To Mary” by St. Louis De Monfort. That book is published by Tan. Come to think about it I have on CD MP3 format “This Is The Faith,” “The Story Of A Soul,” and “The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” And other titles. All published by Tan Books. 👍
 
As one of the posters said, they have some good things. They also have some things I wouldn’t use for a door stop - I wouldn’t insult the door that badly. You need to know what you are getting, and how to stay on the path and out of the fringes. If you aren’t sure of that, go to Ignatius, or other reliable publishers.
 
A couple of years ago my mom bought something from TAN. They included a free pamphlet called Which Bible Should You Read? By Thomas A. Nelson. I though this was rubbish. It basically said that a Catholic should only read the Douay-Rheims Version and that all other versions (even the RSV Catholic edition) were dangerously inferior.
 
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Jim:
A couple of years ago my mom bought something from TAN. They included a free pamphlet called Which Bible Should You Read? By Thomas A. Nelson. I though this was rubbish. It basically said that a Catholic should only read the Douay-Rheims Version and that all other versions (even the RSV Catholic edition) were dangerously inferior.
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I totally agree. We don’t have any Catholic radio here. So I download CAL and listen to it all day at work. Today I listened Jimmy Akins O&A show talk about the Douay-Rheims Version. He said he doesn’t discourage anybody from reading it, but you don’t put it on a pedestal.

By the way thanks 👍 I was going to order “Which Bible Should You Read?” Now I know better.
 
TAN actually does a good job in spite of what you might think… and the books they offer like Timebombs of Vat II etc are very much on target, and hadly in the “sede” camp. Or perhaps you have been taught that the 40 years since VAT II has been free of ambiguities ???

Jimmy Akins is the final authority on bibles!!

Personally I prefer a parallel bible… which includes the Douay, and the RSV. And it is true that most are inferior (in translation, not in “readability”) to the Douay.

“This Is The Faith” is a super book for anyone, from new Catholic to knowledgable Catholic. I have bought many cases… to get the super discount… so mabe that is why one had to wait months…(sorry):whistle:
 
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otm:
As one of the posters said, they have some good things. They also have some things I wouldn’t use for a door stop - I wouldn’t insult the door that badly. You need to know what you are getting, and how to stay on the path and out of the fringes. If you aren’t sure of that, go to Ignatius, or other reliable publishers.
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But Ignatius does not publish that much, inquantity… much easier to pick and choose.

They offer the 4-vol set Divine Intimacy by Fr. Gabriel which is an awesome work. But in appearance, and at twice the price, it does not compare to the single hardcover volume once available through TAN.
 
I ordered the Treasure Box series of books 1-20 from TAN for my God children . The kids love them and their mom uses them in her home schooling. And they got them very promptly.
 
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MrS:
Jimmy Akins is the final authority on bibles!!

“This Is The Faith” is a super book for anyone, from new Catholic to knowledgable Catholic. I have bought many cases… to get the super discount… so mabe that is why one had to wait months…(sorry):whistle:
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I’ll type slowly so you can understand. :whistle:

I never said Jimmy Akin is the final authority on bibles. What he said was you don’t put the Douay above the other translations.

I don’t buy books by the case. I buy many different Books, CD’s, Tapes, etc for my library and to give away to evangelize. :cool:

I wait for sales to save money. 👍
 
Tan indeed publishes some good items. For instance, they publish in 3 volumes the “Radio Replies” of Frs. Rumble and Carty - defense of the Catholic faith before defending it was tainted by psychobabble.

But one should not look on Tan as a guarantee of either quality or faithfulness to the Magisterium. In that area, it is best to evaluate each item on its own.

I heard some time ago that they were in financial difficulty, flirting with bankruptcy. Has anyone any insight into that situation?

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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stanmaxkolbe:
I’ll type slowly so you can understand. :whistle:

I never said Jimmy Akin is the final authority on bibles. What he said was you don’t put the Douay above the other translations.

I don’t buy books by the case. I buy many different Books, CD’s, Tapes, etc for my library and to give away to evangelize. :cool:

I wait for sales to save money. 👍
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I disagree with Jimmy, the Douay is much better than the NAB(a horrible translation). I don’t have the RSV so I can’t comment on that one.
 
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jimmy:
I disagree with Jimmy, the Douay is much better than the NAB(a horrible translation). I don’t have the RSV so I can’t comment on that one.
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I don’t think it’s a horrible translation, I just think they need to fix up some of the footnotes and the inclusive language. There are worse ‘Catholic’ translations than the NAB… and the NAB can be a good starting point for someone who is not that familiar with Sacred Scripture. The Douay’s footnotes are awesome… especially the Challoneer version. The Haydock is also nice… I also like the Confirmatory Version and the Jerusalem Bible. The ‘NRSV-CE’ is one that all Catholics should avoid like the plague however.
 
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jimmy:
I disagree with Jimmy, the Douay is much better than the NAB(a horrible translation). I don’t have the RSV so I can’t comment on that one.
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I agree the NAB is not a good translation. Jimmy Akin didn’t say not to read Douay. He said don’t put on a pedestal above the other translations that’s out there and I agree with him. It has some problems with the old English translation. I can’t quote the versus but some are totally opposite from the true meaning from the Greek.

As for a study Bible the NAB is the only one out there. I have different translations like Rainbow Catholic Study Bible (TEV) that I use for the newer English along side the Catholic Study Bible (NAB). I also use Ignatius The Holy Bible (RSV: CE) with Topic Tabs (from CA) for evangelizing.

Ignatius press is proof reading the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (RSV:CE) New Testament only (heard this on CAL from Scott Hahn) he doesn’t know when it will come out. Right now it published with each individual book $9.95 each. I have them and like them. The study notes, commentary, and questions are done by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch :cool:
 
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jimmy:
I disagree with Jimmy, the Douay is much better than the NAB(a horrible translation). I don’t have the RSV so I can’t comment on that one.
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I agree the NAB is not a good translation I also agree with Semper Fi it’s not a horrible translation. Like with Lk 1:28 Hail favored one! I have problems with the inclusive language. Jimmy Akin didn’t say not to read Douay. He said don’t put on a pedestal above the other translations that’s out there and I agree with him. It has some problems with the old English translation. I can’t quote versus but some are totally opposite from the true meaning from the Greek.

As for a study Bible the NAB is the only half way good one out there. I have different translations like Rainbow Catholic Study Bible (TEV) that I use for the newer English along side the Catholic Study Bible (NAB) I would not recommend using (TEV) for a study Bible. I also use Ignatius The Holy Bible (RSV: CE) with Topic Tabs (from CA) for evangelizing.

Ignatius press is proof reading the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible (RSV:CE) New Testament only (heard this on CAL from Scott Hahn) he doesn’t know when it will come out. Right now its published with each individual book $9.95 each. I have them and like them. The study notes, commentary, and questions are done by Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch. :cool:

Now after saying all that I did download the Douay-Rheims and have it on my computer, I do use “A Textual Concordance Of The Holy Scriptures” from Tan Books. It is based on the Douay-Rheims Version.

At Catholic Answers the Apologists use the RSV:CE and they do say it’s the best English translation out there. The only thing I don’t like about it is the layout. To me there is not a best or a worst out there. Each one has good and bad things. Ok I hope this helps out somebody. 🙂
 
Strange that no one has mentioned the Navarre.:hmmm:… and it is the model for the Ignatius and other attempts to produce good commentary and study notes.

And for those who can make use of the Vulgate, it too is included in the Navarre. It uses the RSV, and I again encourage the use of the parallel bible as a source of “observation” into what translators have done.
 
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stanmaxkolbe:
I don’t buy books by the case. I buy many different Books, CD’s, Tapes, etc for my library and to give away to evangelize. :cool:

I wait for sales to save money. 👍
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If that is really the goal, look at the case prices, the quantity discounts etc. That is usually the best way to save money, other than buying something that is discontinued.
 
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MrS:
If that is really the goal, look at the case prices, the quantity discounts etc. That is usually the best way to save money, other than buying something that is discontinued.
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I agree but I forgot to mention. My five-foot (Protestant) wife would probably take the case of books and knock me over the head with it. Got to keep the peace. 😉

I’ve heard that the Navarre Bibles are very good. I haven’t read any of them so I didn’t comment. 🙂
 
Let’s list some of the good TAN stuff you can get:

To my mind:

Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott is a must have. I have heard there are some problems with parts of it, but overall a great source.

The course in religion by Fr. John Laux is great. Or at least the one book I have: Chief Truths of the Faith.

Correct me if I am wrong, but aren’t many Hillare Beloc titles available only through TAN?
 
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