The following are books published or republished in the past year I highly recommend. They may also be gift ideas (I’ve already got them)! The Amazon widget allows you to preview and read reviews, click on the purchase link and you can choose the format you prefer i.e. Kindle, Paperback or Hardback. Many of the Kindle editions are free or considerably cheaper than the printed editions, but bear in mind the authors are dependent on the income!
THEOLOGY
BARTHE Claude
The Christian liturgy—and the Roman liturgy in particular—developed and thrived within a tradition of commentary and meditation that was fundamental for its understanding, running parallel with the same way of approaching Scripture. The rationalist influences that led to the decline and eventual rejection of the mystical or spiritual senses of Scripture in favor of a narrowly-conceived literal sense led to a narrowing of liturgy as well, which was reduced to its material parts and their various functions. While in recent decades the importance of the spiritual sense of Scripture has been reclaimed, its liturgical equivalent remains in shadow. The present book addresses this lacuna with an easy-to-understand summary of the traditional approach to the “forest of symbols” contained in the Roman Mass.
BULLIVANT Stephen
The United States is in the midst of a religious revolution. Or, perhaps it is better to say a non-religious revolution. Around a quarter of US adults now say they have no religion. The great majority of these religious “nones” also say that they used to belong to a religion but no longer do. These are the nonverts: think “converts,” but from having religion to having none. There are currently has about 59 million of them in the United States.
Nonverts explores who they are, and why they joined the rising tide of the ex-religious. One of world’s leading experts on contemporary atheism and nonreligiosity, sociologist and theologian Stephen Bullivant draws on dozens of interviews, original analysis of high-quality survey data, and a wealth of cutting-edge studies, to present an entertaining and insightful exploration of America’s ex-religious landscape. Bullivant criss-crosses the country, talking to everyone from ex-Mormons in Utah to ex-Catholics in Pennsylvania, from ex-Evangelicals in Georgia to ex-Muslims in California, showing not only what they have in common but also how the traditions they left behind continue to shape them.
While American religion is not going to die out any time soon, ex-Christian America is a growing presence in national life. America’s religious revolution is not just a religious revolution ― it is catalyzing a profound social, cultural, moral, and political impact. Nonverts will serve as an indispensable guide to this shifting landscape, as well as the future of American life.
FAGERBERG David
The Church’s liturgy is an appropriate object for academic study, but it is first and foremost the object of the faithful’s participation in divine worship, the site of humanity’s deification by the Trinity. The liturgy is thus not just something that we can look at, but, like a window, it is also something we can look from, viewing other matters of Christian doctrine and practice—indeed, the entire created world—through the lens of the liturgy. In this collection of essays representing nearly two decades of writing and reflecting on liturgical theology, David Fagerberg sets out to explore the liturgical cosmos, attending to how the lex orandi of the liturgy illuminates and shapes the lex credendi of the Church’s faith and the lex vivendi of the Christian moral life. Addressing such topics as asceticism, beauty, Scripture, spirituality, sacrifice, and social renewal, The Liturgical Cosmos directs our gaze to the ways in which the abundant life that Christ came to offer—a life communicated sacramentally and celebrated cultically—is a life lived daily, and liturgically, as the Holy Spirit refreshes our world and conforms us to Christ, the image of the Father.
COPAN Paul
Apologetics authority Paul Copan tackles popular sayings that often leave Christians speechless, such as “All religions lead to God,” “Who are you to judge others?” or “Jesus was just another great religious leader.” He provides readers with thoughtful explanations of anti-Christian slogans and brief answers to help them continue their conversations with non-Christians. In addition, Copan answers questions about the unevangelized. Study questions for group or individual use are included.
DAVIES Michael
In this very important little pocket booklet, Michael Davies sets forth the amazing thesis that Vatican II and the Post Vatican II legislation did not mandate any changes in the Catholic sanctuary: that is, they did not mandate moving the Tabernacle from the central point in the altar, nor placing a chair in the middle of the sanctuary – or even Mass facing the people. Filled with quotes from the relevant passages of the actual Church documents, this valuable little handbook is a wonderful aid for those trying to education, discuss and fight a modernist update of the sanctuary in a parish Church. Michael Davies also shows the striking similarity between the Protestant & 34;Reformers& 34; destruction of altars in the 16th century and todays destruction of altars and sanctuaries by modernist reformers. This booklet is a best seller and an eye opener to un sanctioned changes in the structure of the sanctuary
DÖLLINGER Johan Joseph Ignaz Von
Written under the pseudonym Janus in the months leading up to the convening of the First Vatican Council in December of 1869, this work sharply critiques the notion of papal infallibility, which the Council declared the following year. Von Döllinger, the primary author of this work, was considered a great ecclesiastical scholar, holding a teaching post at the University of Munich. The work was translated into English in late 1869. Von Döllinger marshals all of his knowledge of church history and Vatican politics in this volume to reject the position of papal infallibility. He begins with the earliest church fathers and works chronologically through the centuries up to his time, pointing out all of the errors made by the Vatican along the way. This detailed, systematic work did not have the result for which the authors hoped. The Council decided in favor of papal infallibility, and those who did not recant of their contrary positions were excommunicated. Von Döllinger refused to change his stance, and would later die without recanting. Although the debate has long been decided by an ecumenical council, “The Pope and the Council” remains a fascinating read. It details the history of the papacy and the corrupt officials which have held positions of power throughout the ages.
JOY John P
The First Vatican Council solemnly defined that the pope is infallible when he speaks ex cathedra, that is, from the chair of St. Peter, which is the chair of truth. With this definition, the question as to whether the pope is able to speak infallibly at all has been finally settled; since then, theological discussion has centered on the subsidiary questions as to how often and under what conditions he does so. Here there are two errors to be avoided: the very real phenomenon of “creeping infallibilization,” according to which almost every utterance of the pope is regarded as being (at least practically) infallible, and the equally dangerous tendency to interpret the conditions for papal infallibility so restrictively as to render the dogma almost meaningless.
KIRBY Jeffrey
This volume—a mini-catechism of practical questions—is structured in the same fourfold division as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the reader is regularly referred to actual sections of the catechism. Topics relate directly to people’s lives, under the categories of the Profession of Faith, the Celebration of the Christian Mystery, Life in Christ, and Christian Prayer.
Always Have an Answer Ready will be invaluable in answering your questions about the Faith, but its value goes beyond this. It also gives us a model of how to answer questions such that people might actually listen to the answers. Fr. Kirby’s approach is simultaneously charitable and clear. His answers are nuanced and sensitive to the questioners’ particular situations, yet unambiguously orthodox.
KRAMER Paul
This volume examines the question of the validity or nullity of Jorge Bergoglio’s and Pope Benedict XVI’s claims on the papacy, according to the same criteria as employed by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (canonical validity of election and orthodoxy in faith) in his examination of the claims of Innocent II and Anacletus II on the papacy. In this work I systematically present the case against Jorge Mario “Francis” Bergoglio, and prove that Benedict XVI is still the only legitimate claimant to the papal throne and sole holder of the Petrine munus at the present time.
TO DECEIVE THE ELECT is a treatise on The catholic doctrine on the question of a heretical Pope which examines and elaborates the Catholic teaching on Defection from the Faith and the Church, focusing primarily on Heresy, and Loss of Ecclesiastical Office; and it is presented in such a manner to clear up the widespread confusion and refute the most common errors on these points that are being propagated at the present time. The book refutes primarily the arguments of the legalist-fundamentalist propagandists of Conciliarism, who profess that a Church council possesses the authority to juridically pass judgment on a reigning Pontiff for the delict of heresy.
KWASNIEWSKI Peter
In his latest book, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski argues that, ever since the new liturgical books following the Second Vatican Council came into force, Roman Catholic faithful have suffered the effects of a hasty and far-reaching reform permeated with nominalism, voluntarism, Protestantism, rationalism, antiquarianism, hyperpapalism, and other modern errors. Man is not master over divine liturgy, Dr. Kwasniewski emphasizes; rather, all of us are called to be stewards of the sacred, from the lowest-ranking layman to the pope himself.
In this bold and powerful book, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski marshals an irrefutable defense of the Church’s historical teaching that her liturgical ministries — including those of lector and altar server — should be performed exclusively by men. God created the two sexes for profound reasons, explains Dr. Kwasniewski, and we diminish human beings when we lose sight of those reasons. He asserts that the interdependence of the two sexes strengthens both men and women and that the complementary characteristics of masculinity and femininity are indispensable to human development. The manifest differences between the sexes have informed the Church’s vision on the roles of men and women in the liturgy for centuries, and they are now under attack not only from outside the Catholic Church but also within it, threatening the very order and coherence of civilization itself.
In this pivotal book, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski offers an essential treatise on the question of obedience in the Church—whence it derives and how it is to be properly and prudently understood and lived. He explores St. Thomas Aquinas’s guidelines on the subject, what type of obedience is necessary for salvation, and which types are lawful and unlawful. Can there be situations where the usual structures of obedience become impediments to, rather than facilitators of, the Church’s mission and the good of souls? Have there been instances in Church history where faithful priests have exercised their ministry in violation of ordinary canonical norms? How should the clergy respond if the traditional Latin Mass is forbidden to them or if it were to be declared “abrogated”? What is the proper role of conscience and how are liberal and conservative views of it defective?
After an initial careful summary of the Cavadini, Healy, and Weinandy series, Illusions of Reform gathers the critiques of nine authors: in Part 1, Dr. Janet Smith’s own five-part series; in Part 2, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski’s rejoinders on several major issues; in Part 3, further responses by Alexander Battista, representing the point of view of Eastern Catholics; Fr. Samuel Keyes, a priest of the Anglican Ordinariate; Roland Millare, an expert on Joseph Ratzinger; Fr. Peter Miller and Dom Alcuin Reid, liturgically knowledgeable Benedictine monks; and Dr. Joseph Shaw, president of the International Una Voce Foundation. An epilogue by Gregory DiPippo and a select bibliography round out the volume.
LEMIUS J B
This booklet brings the papal encyclical of 1907 about ‘On Modernism’ to life. It is still amazingly up to date, as if it had been written yesterday. The language is easily accessible. The main object is to reveal the flaws of modern theology. By the way, modern theology is not so modern at all and started with 17th century Spinoza and his good friend, the priest Richard Simon, who headed the Freemasonry movement (then called Rosicrucians) just before it presented itself to the world in 1717. But these kind of considerations are not part of the book. It is purely about the sophisticated system of thought used by the enemies of the true religion, who present their doctrines without order and systematic arrangement into one whole, scattered and disjointed one from another, so as to appear to be in doubt and uncertainty, while they are in reality firm and steadfast. The sad thing is that many of those enemies are to be found in the ranks of the priesthood itself, who, feigning a love for the Church, vaunt themselves as reformers of the Church, all the while spreading their poisonous doctrines – as was pointed out by our holy Pope Pius X himself (pp. 14-15).
MAWDSLEY James
Crucifixion to Creation shows that the roots of the traditional Roman liturgy can be traced from the Crucifixion back through the worship in Solomon’s Temple to the Tabernacle made by Moses and through to the Garden of Eden and even beyond.
This book examines certain eternal elements of Holy Mass, the immutable pattern underlying them, the personal cause of the unity in all Creation, and the greatest wonder on Earth. Before drawing suitable conclusions, the book surveys how drastic changes in the Catholic Church since the 1950s rip up the ancient roots, obscuring the Way to God.
What was lost by our first parents in Paradise was returned myriadfold by Christ on Calvary. The Mass of Ages transmits to us that Life from the Cross which exceeds the life — on offer or forbidden — of every fruit in Eden. Crucifixion to Creation is written to elevate our participation in Holy Mass and to awaken the deepest love for Tradition.
This is the first book in the New Old series, finding Jesus Christ present in the Old Testament — it seems on every page!
Why in order to create Eve did God send a “deep sleep” on Adam? Why does Genesis tell us Noah was laid out naked and drunk? Why did God send a “deep sleep” upon Abraham, with dark dread in the midst of his sacrifice, when making a Covenant with him? Beginning with these deep sleeps experienced by Adam, Noah, and Abraham, this book finds more than a dozen instances of sleep featured in the Old Testament which each foreshadow the Passion of Jesus Christ.
The various examples highlight different aspects of the Crucifixion, the goods which belong to the Cross. They teach us to expect the Cross in our own life, and to be confident of the graces it contains if we carry it. Inspiring us in our trials, together the Old Testament figures work to give us an invincible faith in God’s Plan for our redemption, as they demonstrate that the Sacrifice of His Beloved Son was foreknown from the beginning.
The traditional teaching on the conversion of the Jews is as old as the Church. If You Believed Moses (Volume 1) relies heavily on the testimony of the Church Fathers and more recent Saints on the deeper meaning of the Sacred Scripture.
This two volume work is not written to persuade Jews to convert to Christianity. It is written to persuade Christians of the inevitability and desirability of that conversion. It is written to persuade Catholics to pray properly for it. If we do, then in God’s time the conversion will happen, followed soon after by the awesome return of Our Lord Jesus Christ on clouds of glory. If we do not pray properly for the conversion of the Jews then we will have hell on earth until we do.
MIONI Anthony
In 1789, the French Revolution took place and launched a host of religious, political and social errors which the Popes for over 160 years afterwards wrote and legislated against. Yet most of these errors have spread and today have filtered down to the common man… with the result that most people now take for granted many fundamental assumptions that are positively false! But almost from the beginning of these errors, the Popes spoke out as with one voice, inveighing against them. Today, as we see these errors bearing evil fruit, many thoughtful Catholics are returning to those Papal documents which condemned these modern errors, to examine what the Popes have said all along about them. Here, in one handy volume, are the best and most famous of those papal denunciations…
PLESE Matthew
Unbeknownst to many, the new catechism published in 1992 is far from the only catechism. St. Peter Canisius wrote the first catechism in 1555. Less than a decade later in 1562, the Roman Catechism was commissioned by the Fathers of the Council of Trent, who saw the need for an authoritative explanation of the Faith for the universal Church. Prepared under St. Charles Borromeo’s supervision and issued by Pope St. Pius V in 1566, it remains the most authoritative catechism in print.
For modern readers however, the Roman Catechism is rather verbose and hard to read. To remedy this, over one hundred years ago Fr. Francis Spirago authored The Catechism Explained.
Now a century later, Mr. Matthew Plese has done the same for our day.
In The Roman Catechism Explained for the Modern World, Plese seeks to present the teaching of the Roman Catechism anew. Augmented by the Catechism of St. Pius X, the Baltimore Catechism, the Sacred Scriptures, and the writings of the saints, this new Catechism Explained will make this forgotten catechism available, accessible, and understandable for the crisis we find ourselves in.
PITRE Brant James
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist shines fresh light on the Last Supper by looking at it through Jewish eyes. Using his in-depth knowledge of the Bible and ancient Judaism, Dr. Brant Pitre answers questions such as: What was the Passover like at the time of Jesus? What were the Jewish hopes for the Messiah? What was Jesus’ purpose in instituting the Eucharist during the feast of Passover? And, most important of all, what did Jesus mean when he said, “This is my body… This is my blood”?
To answer these questions, Pitre explores ancient Jewish beliefs about the Passover of the Messiah, the miraculous Manna from heaven, and the mysterious Bread of the Presence. As he shows, these three keys—the Passover, the Manna, and the Bread of the Presence—have the power to unlock the original meaning of the Eucharistic words of Jesus. Along the way, Pitre also explains how Jesus united the Last Supper to his death on Good Friday and his Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
Inspiring and informative, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist is a groundbreaking work that is sure to illuminate one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith: the mystery of Jesus’ presence in “the breaking of the bread.”
Are Catholic teachings on Mary really biblical? Or are they the “traditions of men”? Should she be called the “Mother of God,” or just the mother of Jesus? Did she actually remain a virgin her whole life or do the “brothers of Jesus” refer to her other children? By praying to Mary, are Catholics worshipping her? And what does Mary have to do with the quest to understand Jesus?
In Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary, Dr. Pitre takes readers step-by-step from the Garden of Eden to the Book of Revelation to reveal how deeply biblical Catholic beliefs about Mary really are. Dr. Pitre uses the Old Testament and Ancient Judaism to unlock how the Bible itself teaches that Mary is in fact the new Eve, the Mother of God, the Queen of Heaven and Earth, and the new Ark of the Covenant.
In Jesus the Bridegroom, Brant Pitre once again taps into the wells of Jewish Scripture and tradition, and unlocks the secrets of what is arguably the most well-known symbol of the Christian faith: the cross of Christ. In this thrilling exploration, Pitre shows how the suffering and death of Jesus was far more than a tragic Roman execution. Instead, the Passion of Christ was the fulfillment of ancient Jewish prophecies of a wedding, when the God of the universe would wed himself to humankind in an everlasting nuptial covenant.
As The Case for Jesus will show, recent discoveries in New Testament scholarship, as well as neglected evidence from ancient manuscripts and the early church fathers, together have the potential to pull the rug out from under a century of skepticism toward the traditional Gospels. Above all, Pitre shows how the divine claims of Jesus of Nazareth can only be understood by putting them in their ancient Jewish context.
PRÜMMER Dominic M
First published in 1921, Fr. Prümmer’s Handbook of Moral Theology was immediately regarded as an international classic. The author’s clarity of vision, precision of expression, and humble fidelity to the traditional Catholic moral framework during a period of social upheaval and increasing doctrinal deviation made his manual the standard reference text for generations of clergy, seminarians, and laity. For those seeking answers to moral questions, the Catholic advice was often “Look it up in Prümmer!”
RIPPERGER Chad
In his encyclical Humani Generis, Pope Pius XII stressed the importance of preserving the traditional Catholic approach to philosophy. In his work The Metaphysics of Evolution, Fr. Chad Ripperger demonstrates that the theory of evolution is incompatible with the metaphysics of the Catholic tradition.
SCHNEIDER Athanasius
The most up-to-date “catechism” in print! For the first time in over fifty years, a Catholic bishop has published his own comprehensive presentation of the Faith–what to believe, how to live, and how to pray as Christ taught. Sure to be a classic for generations to come, Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith offers a clear and readable summary of Catholicism as a whole, given in the pastoral style of the apostles. Using the simple and direct “Question-Answer” format so popular among instructors (and internet search engines), Bishop Athanasius Schneider shares a bold new articulation of timeless truths, while also engaging current issues with courage and kindness.
SHEED
St JOHN Ambrose
The Raccolta (literally, “collection” in Italian) is a book that listed Roman Catholic prayers and other acts of piety, such as novenas for which specific indulgances were granted by Popes. It was translated by Father St. John who was a convert to Catholicism and was one of the first books of popular devotion issued by the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory, supplying them with the congregational prayers, still in use in their church, for the Stations of the Cross, for the 1110nth of May, the Triduo and Novenas in preparation for the Feasts of our Lady, and similar devotions.
THIGPEN Paul
A fierce war rages for your soul. Are you ready for battle? Like it or not, you are at war. You face a powerful enemy out to destroy you. You live on the battlefield, so you can’t escape the conflict. It’s a spiritual war with crucial consequences in your everyday life and its outcome will determine your eternal destiny. You must engage the Enemy. And as you fight, you need a Manual for Spiritual Warfare.
SOCIAL COMMENTARY
BOGHOSSIAN Peter & LINDSAY James
In our current political climate, it seems impossible to have a reasonable conversation with anyone who has a different opinion. Whether you’re online, in a classroom, an office, a town hall—or just hoping to get through a family dinner with a stubborn relative—dialogue shuts down when perspectives clash. Heated debates often lead to insults and shaming, blocking any possibility of productive discourse. Everyone seems to be on a hair trigger.
In How to Have Impossible Conversations, Peter Boghossian and James Lindsay guide you through the straightforward, practical, conversational techniques necessary for every successful conversation—whether the issue is climate change, religious faith, gender identity, race, poverty, immigration, or gun control. Boghossian and Lindsay teach the subtle art of instilling doubts and opening minds. They cover everything from learning the fundamentals for good conversations to achieving expert-level techniques to deal with hardliners and extremists. This book is the manual everyone needs to foster a climate of civility, connection, and empathy.
BROWN Chris & HANDSCOMBE Graham
Democratic societies thrive when citizens actively and critically engage with new ideas, developments and claims to truth. Not only can such practices result in more effective choice-making, but they can also lead to widespread support for progressive beliefs, such as social justice. With Western societies in the midst of environmental, social and political crises, it seems more pertinent than ever that citizens become ‘ideas-informed’.
Presenting concepts from academia, industry, and practice, The Ideas-Informed Society closes the gap between the ideal of the ideas-informed society and the current reality. By exploring what it means to be ideas-informed and the benefits for both individuals and society, the chapters conceive what an ideal ideas-informed society would look like, what are the key ingredients of an ideas-informed society, and how to make it happen.
DOYLE Andrew
In The New Puritans, Andrew Doyle powerfully examines the underlying belief-systems of this ideology, and how it has risen so rapidly to dominate all major political, cultural and corporate institutions. He reasons that, to move forward, we need to understand where these new puritans came from and what they hope to achieve. Written in the spirit of optimism and understanding, Doyle offers an eloquent and powerful case for the reinstatement of liberal values and explains why it’s important we act now.
EBERSTADT Mary
In this magisterial work, leading cultural critic Mary Eberstadt delivers an influential new theory about the decline of religion in the Western world. The conventional wisdom is that the West first experienced religious decline, followed by the decline of the family. Eberstadt turns this standard account on its head. Marshaling an impressive array of research, from fascinating historical data on family decline in pre-Revolutionary France to contemporary popular culture both in the United States and Europe, Eberstadt shows the reverse is also true: the undermining of the family has further undermined Christianity itself.
EHSAN Rakib
Beyond Grievance highlights the growing tensions between the liberal cosmopolitanism which defines much of the British political Left, and the patriotic faith-based conservatism that runs deep in many of Britain’s ethnic-minority communities. With American-style racial identity politics taking root in the UK, the book argues that many liberal-leftists are disregarding the attachments to the traditional triad of faith, family and flag in historically Labour-voting, ethnic-minority communities. Rakib Ehsan argues that Britain needs a robust civic patriotism which understands that a stable family unit is the finest form of social security known to humankind; a cultural arrangement which appreciates that faith is a vital source of strength and optimism across a diversity of communities. Providing a much-needed corrective to the toxic mixture of tribal identity politics and radical cultural liberalism on the modern British Left, the book presents the case for an inclusive ‘social-justice traditionalism’ rooted in family, security, and equality of opportunity.
FOX Claire
NEW AND UPDATED EDITION OF THE BOOK THAT INTRODUCED THE TERM ‘SNOWFLAKE.’ When you hear that now ubiquitous phrase ‘I find that offensive’, you know you’re being told to shut up. While the terrible murder of the Charlie Hebdo cartoonists demonstrated that those who offend can face the most brutal form of censorship, it also served to intensify the pre-existing climate that dictates we all have to walk on eggshells to avoid saying anything offensive – or else. Indeed, competitive offence-claiming is ratcheting up well beyond religious sensibilities. So, while Islamists and feminists may seem to have little in common, they are both united in demanding retribution in the form of bans, penalties and censorship of those who hurt their feelings. But how did we become so thin-skinned? In this ned and updated edition of her book ‘I Find That Offensive!’ Claire Fox addresses head on the possible causes of what is fast becoming known as ‘Generation Snowflake’ in a call to toughen up, become more robust and make a virtue of the right to be offensive.
GALLAGHER Richard
The world’s leading psychiatric authority on demonic possession delves into the hidden world of exorcisms and his own transformation from cynic to believer over the course of his twenty-five-year career.
Successful New York psychiatrist Richard Gallagher was skeptical yet intrigued when a hard-nosed, no-nonsense Catholic priest asked him to examine a woman for a possible exorcism. Meeting her, Gallagher was astonished. The woman’s behavior defied logic. In an instant, she could pinpoint a person’s secret weaknesses. She knew how individuals she’d never known had died, including Gallagher’s own mother, who passed away after a lengthy battle with ovarian cancer. She spoke fluently in multiple languages, including Latin—but only when she was in a trance. This was not psychosis, Gallagher concluded. It was, in his scientific estimation, what could only be describe as paranormal ability. The woman wasn’t mentally disturbed—she was possessed. This remarkable case was the first of many that Gallagher would encounter. Sought after today by leaders of all faiths—ministers, priests, rabbis and imams, Gallagher has spent a quarter-century studying demonic activity and exorcisms throughout history and has witnessed more cases than any other psychiatrist in the world today.
GÄNSWEIN Georg
Written with the involvement of the regarded Vaticanista Saverio Gaeta, Mons. Gänswein offers an account of a particular decade in history and confronts false claims of intrigue and cover-up (Vatileaks, the Orlandi abduction case, the sexual abuse scandal, among other issues) to tell the real story of a pope who faced a changing landscape and a public who largely misunderstood him and his style of governance. Here we meet one of the most affable and intellectually formidable popes the Catholic Church has ever known, and a priest who might also be considered a prophet of the post-modern age. Gänswein brilliantly contextualizes many of Benedict’s most poignant theological positions, and in giving us a sense of their origin reveals that Benedict seamlessly lived everything he promulgated. His faith was the single bulwark upon which his personality as both teacher and leader were built. No biography has yet to establish the integrity and heart of Joseph Ratzinger as well as his friend, Georg Gänswein, does here.
GOODWIN Matthew
What has caused the recent seismic changes in British politics, including Brexit and a series of populist revolts against the elite? Why did so many people want to overturn the status quo? Where have the Left gone wrong? And what deeper trends are driving these changes?
British politics is coming apart. A country once known for its stability has recently experienced a series of shocking upheavals. Matthew Goodwin, acclaimed political scientist and co-author of National Populism, shows that the reason is not economic hardship, personalities or dark money. It is a far wider political realignment that will be with us for years to come. An increasingly liberalised, globalised ruling class has lost touch with millions, who found their values ignored, their voices unheard and their virtue denied. Now, this new alliance of voters is set to determine Britain’s fate.
HITCHENS Peter
In his new book, Peter Hitchens describes the misjudgements made by politicians over the years that have led to the increase of class distinction and privilege in our education system. This is of course the opposite of what was intended, especially by former Minister of Education Shirley Williams and Margaret Thatcher, her successor in that role, who closed down many more Grammar Schools than Williams.
Given that the cost of private secondary education is now in the region of £50,000 a year and the cream of Comprehensive Schools are now oversubscribed (William Ellis, Camden School for Girls, The Oratory, Cardinal Vaughan), parents are spending thousands on private tutoring and fee-paying prep schools in order to get their children into these academically excellent schools. Meanwhile hypocritical Labour politicians like Diane Abbott send their children to expensive private day schools. So, what alternatives – if any – are there?
Peter Hitchens argues that in trying to bring about an educational system which is egalitarian, the politicians have created a system which is the exact opposite. And what’s more, it is a system riddled with anomalies – Sixth Form Colleges select pupils on ability at the age of 15, which rules out any child who does not have major educational backing from home (heavy involvement by working parents or private tutors, for example) and academies also are selective, though they pretend not to be.
ISRAEL Jonathan I
There have been surprisingly few biographies of Spinoza, given his fundamental importance in intellectual history and history of philosophy, Bible criticism, and political thought. Jonathan I. Israel has written a biography which provides more detail and context about Spinoza’s life, family, writings, circle of friends, highly unusual career and networking, and early reception than its predecessors. Weaving the circumstances of his life and thought into a detailed biography has also led to several notable instances of nuancing or revising our notions of how to interpret certain of his assertions and philosophical claims, and how to understand the complex international reaction to his work during his life-time and in the years immediately following his death.
LINEHAN Graham
Having cut his teeth in music journalism, Graham Linehan became the finest sitcom writer of his generation. He captured the comedy zeitgeist not just as the co-creator of Father Ted but also with The IT Crowd and Black Books, winning five Baftas and a lifetime achievement award. Then his life took an unexpected turn. When he championed an unfashionable cause, TV commissioners no longer returned his emails, showbiz pals lost his number and his marriage collapsed. In an emotionally charged memoir that is by turns hilarious and harrowing, he lets us into the secrets of the writing room and colourfully describes the high-octane atmosphere of a sitcom set. But he also berates an industry where there was no one to stand by his side when he needed help. Bruised but not beaten, he explains why he chose the hill of women and girls’ rights to die on – and why, despite the hardship of cancellation, he’s not coming down from it any time soon.
MURRAY Douglas
In The War on the West, Douglas Murray shows the ways in which many well-meaning people have been lured into polarisation by lies, and shows how far the world’s most crucial political debates have been hijacked across Europe and America. Propelled by an incisive deconstruction of inconsistent arguments and hypocritical activism, The War on the West is an essential and urgent polemic that cements Murray’s status as one of the world’s foremost political writers.
O’NEILL Brendan
Can a woman have a penis? Is the West forever stained by racism? Are we all going to die from climate change? To the liberal establishment of London, New York or Sydney, the answer to all of these questions is ‘Yes’. And anyone who disagrees is a racist, climate-change-denying transphobe. Our elites have become convinced of some very strange and extreme ideas. And yet there is precious little pushback against them. Critics are cowed by the threat of shaming, cancellation, even arrest. The new orthodoxies of our age are risible, and yet the space for dissent is shrinking. We need more heretics. Throughout history, it has been those brave enough to puncture the prevailing groupthink who have propelled society forward. But they are in shockingly short supply today. In this collection of original essays, Brendan O’Neill remakes the case for heresy – and commits a few heresies of his own along the way.
PETRIE Neil
One Vote Away is a seminal work attacking the self-interested elites driving globalization, controlling representative democracies, and manipulating peoples around the world. They control political parties with their funding and favors, and demand policies that support their interests. This is not democracy, and this is why the world is in turmoil. In this book you will see how the people can rule through the use of a hybrid democracy, part-representative and part-direct. Such a system has been tried and proven since 1848, and is immensely successful and popular with those living under the system – the Swiss. The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848 as well, and almost a fifth of humanity still live in terror of their Marxist governors. One Vote Away ranges across history and related fields to show how we got here, but, most importantly, how we get out of the mess that arrogant schemers, from the left and right, have created. The way to a better future where we rule is just One Vote Away. Written by a former intelligence officer, corporate and business leader, the book opens eyes and minds to the giant con that representative democracies have become. With elected leaders working hand in glove with totalitarian and authoritarian regimes against the people they are supposed to represent, this book charts the way out of this trap. Support for the proposals contained in this important volume, can be found in the words of one of the West’s greatest constitutional lawyers. Over a century ago A.V. Dicey backed referendums to keep parties under the control of the electorate, but his advice has been ignored. We should now use him as our guide to create the real democracies he foresaw, thus ending, for generations to come, the threat from our fake capitalist central bankers and the totalitarians in Beijing. We are one vote away from saving the West – if we have the courage of our forebears.
PINCOURT Charles & LINDSAY James
The Woke ideology is colonizing Western Civilization. This ideology views the world through a Marxist-inspired lens of “systemic power dynamics” that divides us between the “privileged” and the “oppressed.” This colonization has successfully captured many of our noblest and most vital institutions through time-tested strategies and tactics. People from almost every sector of life are concerned about this capture but feel paralyzed and helpless as this ideology activates itself and wields its power. The good news is that Woke tactics are predictable and can be countered. This guide is an invaluable contribution to understanding, recognizing, and ultimately countering “Wokecraft” wherever it appears. While the guide is tailored to the university, its lessons are applicable throughout government, K-12 education, the private sector, churches, and even formal and informal affinity groups. This makes the guide a much-needed contribution as people seek to push back against the destructive Woke ideology.
Charles Pincourt is a professor of engineering at a large university. He writes about the Critical Social Justice (CSJ) perspective in universities, how it has become so successful there, and what can be done about it.
James Lindsay is the founder and president of New Discourses. He is the author of six books including Cynical Theories, and is a leading expert on the subject of Critical Race Theory.
RUFO Christopher F
Readers may not know the names of Herbert Marcuse, Angela Davis, Paulo Freire, and Derrick Bell, but they will recognize the ideas they spread. How their radical, destructive ideology slowly worked its way from prisons to academia to classrooms to your human resources department will come as a shock. Failing to act soon, Rufo warns, could allow the radical left to achieve their ultimate objective: replacing constitutional equality with a race-based redistribution system overseen by bureaucratic ‘diversity and inclusion’ officials. Most Americans don’t want this, but most Americans are no longer in control of our institutions. If the mainstream media’s depiction of a failing dystopia in need of a fresh start never sounded right to you, this expose and call to arms is the book you’ve been looking for.
SCRIVENER Glen
Is Christianity history? Or is Christian history the deepest explanation of the modern world? Today in the west, many consider the church to be dead or dying. Christianity is seen as outdated, bigoted and responsible for many of society’s problems. This leaves many believers embarrassed about their faith and many outsiders wary of religion. But what if the Christian message is not the enemy of our modern Western values, but the very thing that makes sense of them? In this fascinating book, Glen Scrivener takes readers on a journey to discover how the teachings of Jesus not only turned the ancient world upside down, but continue to underpin the way we think of life, worth, and meaning. Far from being a relic from the past, the distinctive ideas of Christianity, such as freedom, kindness, progress and equality, are a crucial part of the air that we breathe. As author Glen Scrivener says in his introduction: “The extraordinary impact of Christianity is seen in the fact that we don’t notice it”. This is a book for both believers and sceptics—giving Christians confidence to be open about their faith and showing non-Christians the ways in which the message of Jesus makes sense of their most cherished beliefs. Whoever you are, you’ll gain a deeper appreciation for the values you hold dear as you discover the power and profundity of Jesus and his revolution.
SHAW Joseph
The decline of the Catholic Church in the developed world has been accelerated in the last decade by a devastating series of scandals involving sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. But just as clerical abuse fits in to a wider story about the abuse of power in the modern “sexual marketplace,” so the decline of Catholic church-going and religious belief finds its context in a wider collapse of cultural institutions and shared beliefs: the crisis of modernity.
SIMONS Jake Wallis
In the Middle Ages, Jews were hated for their religion. In the twentieth century, they were hated because of their race. Today, Jews are hated for something else entirely, their nation-state of Israel. Antisemitism has morphed into something both ancient and modern: Israelophobia. But how did this transformation occur? And why? Award-winning journalist Jake Wallis Simons answers these questions, clarifying the line between criticism and hatred, exploring game-changing facts and exposing dangerous discourse. Urgent, incisive and deeply necessary, Israelophobia reveals why the Middle East’s only democracy, which uniquely respects the rights of women and sexual and religious minorities, attracts such disproportionate levels of slander. Rather than defending Israel against all criticism, it argues for reasonable disagreement based on reality instead of bigotry. Through charting the history of Israelophobia – starting in Nazi Germany, travelling via the Kremlin to Tehran and along fibre optic cables to billions of screens – and using it to understand contemporary prejudice, this timely book will restore much-needed sanity to the debate, creating the space for mutual understanding, tolerance and peace.
GENDER CRITICAL
BARNES Heather
Time to Think goes behind the headlines to reveal the truth about the NHS’s flagship gender service for children. The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), based at the Tavistock and Portman Trust in North London, was set up initially to provide — for the most part — talking therapies to young people who were questioning their gender identity. But in the last decade GIDS has referred more than a thousand children, some as young as nine years old, for medication to block their puberty. In the same period, the number of young people seeking GIDS’s help exploded, increasing twenty-five-fold. The profile of the patients changed too: from largely pre-pubescent boys to mostly adolescent girls, who were often contending with other difficulties. Why had the patients changed so dramatically? Were all these distressed young people best served by taking puberty blockers and then cross-sex hormones, which cause irreversible changes to the body? While some young people appeared to thrive after taking the blocker, many seemed to become worse. Was there enough clinical evidence to justify such profound medical interventions in the lives of young people who had so much else to contend with? This urgent, scrupulous and dramatic book explains how, in the words of some former staff, GIDS has been the site of a serious medical scandal, in which ideological concerns took priority over clinical practice. Award-winning journalist Hannah Barnes has had unprecedented access to thousands of pages of documents, including internal emails and unpublished reports, and well over a hundred hours of personal testimony from GIDS clinicians, former service users and senior Tavistock figures. The result is a disturbing and gripping parable for our times.
BLAKEMORE Sarah-Jayne
Up to the minute brain science from a world class scientist. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore explains how the adolescent brain transforms as it develops and shapes the adults we become. ‘Beautifully written with clarity, expertise and honesty about the most important subject for all of us. I couldn’t put it down.’ – Professor Robert Winston
ELLIOTT Zachary
Binary is the ultimate guide for understanding and dismantling the sex spectrum, the new cultural belief that sex exists on a continuum and that male and female are social constructs.
By analyzing its ten most popular arguments, Zachary Elliott reveals how the tenets of the sex spectrum deny evolution, development, and genetics. Using the primary biology literature, the book provides the reader with a comprehensive scientific understanding of how the two sexes are universal phenomena and how complex genetic networks consistently result in a simple yet profound outcome: male or female.
Zachary Elliott is the founder of the Paradox Institute, a research group that specializes in teaching the biology of sex and sex differences to the public. Zach has been researching, reading, and writing about sex differences since 2017 and has written two other books on the subject—Sex Differences: A Land of Confusion and The Gender Paradox: Discrimination and Disparities in the Postmodern Era. He is also a writer and producer of more than twenty animated videos on the biology of sex, using his expertise in motion graphics and design to effectively communicate biological concepts.
GROSSMAN Miriam
Lost in Trans Nation arms parents with the ammunition to avoid, or, if necessary, fight what many families describe as the most difficult challenge of their lives. Parents will learn what to say and how—at home, at school, and if necessary, to police when they appear at the door.
“Don’t be blindsided like so many parents I know,” warns Grossman, “be proactive and get educated. Feel prepared and confident to discuss trans, nonbinary, or whatever your child brings to the dinner table.” Whether it’s the “trans is as common as red hair” claim, or the “I’m not your son, I’m your daughter” proclamation, or the “do you prefer a live son or a dead daughter’ threat, says Grossman, no family is immune, and every parent must be prepared.
No child is born in the wrong body, Dr. Grossman reassures us, their bodies are just fine; it’s their emotional lives that need healing. Whether you’re facing a gender identity battle in your home right now, or want to prevent one, you need this book to guide you and your loved ones out of the madness.
HAKEEM Az
This book sheds light on the phenomenon of detransition and gives a voice to the detrans people and the parents for whom transition can impact with devastating consequences. “Beset by scandal and pseudoscience, the edifice of Transgender Medicine is toppling under its own weight. Dr Hakeem provides the ultimate guide to understanding why the current medical regime failed, and how we can build a more sober and compassionate treatment regime for sufferers of gender dysphoria.”
JOYCE Helen
Biological sex is no longer accepted as a basic fact of life. It is forbidden to admit that female people sometimes need protection and privacy from male ones. In an analysis that is at once expert, sympathetic and urgent, Helen Joyce offers an antidote to the chaos and cancelling.
KATZ Roberta, OGILVIE Sarah, SHAW Jane & WOODHEAD Linda
Born since the mid-1990s, members of Generation Z comprise the first generation never to know the world without the internet, and the most diverse generation yet. As Gen Z starts to emerge into adulthood and enter the workforce, what do we really know about them? And what can we learn from them? Gen Z, Explained is the authoritative portrait of this significant generation. It draws on extensive interviews that display this generation’s candor, surveys that explore their views and attitudes, and a vast database of their astonishingly inventive lexicon to build a comprehensive picture of their values, daily lives, and outlook. Gen Z emerges here as an extraordinarily thoughtful, promising, and perceptive generation that is sounding a warning to their elders about the world around them—a warning of a complexity and depth the “OK Boomer” phenomenon can only suggest. Much of the existing literature about Gen Z has been highly judgmental. In contrast, this book provides a deep and nuanced understanding of a generation facing a future of enormous challenges, from climate change to civil unrest. What’s more, they are facing this future head-on, relying on themselves and their peers to work collaboratively to solve these problems. As Gen Z, Explained shows, this group of young people is as compassionate and imaginative as any that has come before, and understanding the way they tackle problems may enable us to envision new kinds of solutions. This portrait of Gen Z is ultimately an optimistic one, suggesting they have something to teach all of us about how to live and thrive in this digital world.
O’MALLEY Stella
A medical scandal is currently unfolding across Western liberal societies. As Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans reveals, the primary victims are vulnerable, socially awkward kids with normally developing bodies who fall for the Internet-fueled promise that they can solve their emotional, psychological, or physical discomfort by adopting an opposite-sex identity. With deep reservations about the new gender orthodoxy that informs this promise and the irreversible one-size-fits-all medical prescription that comes with it, the parent contributors to this anthology share deeply personal stories about transition and desistance that won’t be told at the gender clinic. They also offer practical advice based on hard-earned experience that won’t be found in mainstream media. Whether progressive or conservative, gay or straight, secular or religious, they all share the aim of protecting children from the physical and emotional harms of the gender industry and seek to empower and encourage other parents and individuals to combat gender ideology at home, in schools, in clinics, and beyond.
Being the parent of a gender-questioning child is confusing. There is a lot of advice out there, but much of it goes against what many parents feel instinctively is the right approach. And the stakes are very high if you get it wrong. There have been many books written for parents who are facilitating a child’s gender transition, but almost none for parents who decide that social or medical transition is not the best option for their child. Written by three professionals working in the field – Sasha Ayad, Lisa Marchiano and Stella O’Malley – When Kids Say They’re Trans is explicitly a resource for parents who want their children to flourish, but do not believe that hasty medicalisation is the best way to ensure long-term health and well-being. Parents who have successfully helped their children navigate gender distress without resorting to surgery and hormones have done so by actively taking the reins, not waiting until they found the right therapist or doctor. When Kids Say They’re Trans will tell you all you need to know, and will give you the confidence to trust your own instincts.
PLUCKROSE Helen & LINDSAY James
Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma behind these ideas, from its origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields. Today this dogma is recognisable as much by its effects, such as cancel culture and social-media pile-ons, as by its assertions, which are all too often taken as read: knowledge is a social construct; science and reason are tools of oppression; all human interactions are sites of oppressive power play; and language is dangerous. As they warn, the unchecked proliferation of these beliefs present a threat to liberal democracy. While acknowledging the need to challenge the complacency of those who think a just society has been fully achieved, Pluckrose and Lindsay break down how often-radical activist scholarship does far more harm than good, not least to those marginalised communities it claims to champion.
SANGER Isidora
For over a century, feminists have campaigned for women’s sex-based rights, despite the violent backlash from men. They recognised that women’s health and well-being, participation in public life and their ability to escape abuse were the most urgent human rights issues affecting the female sex. The backlash from men was carried out in the physical – by using oppression and violence – but it was justified with metaphysical theories about women’s brains, a feminine psyche and the innate nature of gender stereotypes. Obscure scientific methods of dubious significance, like phrenology, kept being devised to try and substantiate this empirically.
