The Horse of Selene by Juanita Casey, with an afterword by Mary M. Burke (Tramp Press, €16.00/£12.99) We are so flooded these days with works of modern genius, that all too many books once admired, or widely read, or necessary in some way, are driven down into forgetfulness. These books from the past are the…
The Way We Were: Catholic Ireland Since 1922 by Mary Kenny (Columba Books, €19.99/£17.99) Mary Kenny’s new book is of great importance, and in its arrangement will enlighten many about what has become a controversial aspect of our recent past. The first section deals with the course of Irish history, basically since the founding of…
Rainbows and Windmills by Peter Tarleton Stewart (Columba Books, €14.99/£13.99) Peter Tarleton Stewart retired two years ago after 46 years as an active Anglican pastor and parish priest. From those long years of widely spread and varied experience not only among his parishioners, but also with students, the sick and imprisoned, he has seen many…
Cracking the Egyptian Code: The Revolutionary Life of Jean-François Champollion by Andrew Robinson (Thames and Hudson, €14.99/£12.99) People often remark carelessly on what the sacred writings of the Bible and the New Testament “say”. They give little thought, as often as not, to the astonishing ability of being able to read a text in translation…
The Deep End: A Journey with the Sunday Gospels in the Year of Matthew by Tríona Doherty and Jane Mellett (Messenger Publications, €14.95/£12.95) Some readers may be familiar with the authors from their first book written together. Jane Mellett is an experienced pastoral worker, while Tríona Doherty is currently the editor of Reality magazine. God…
God in No 10: The personal faith of the Prime Ministers, from Balfour to Blair by Mark Vickers SPCK, €28.99/£25.00 This is a remarkable book, one which goes where historians have in the past been reluctant to go. It is, even more remarkably, written by a working parish priest in London. As the religious beliefs of…
Occasional Prayers for the School Year by Gráinne Delaney Messenger Publications, €12.95/£11.95 This is an interesting book, and one which parents as well as school chaplains will want to read. Gráine Delaney is Chaplain in Crescent College Comprehensive SJ for the last twenty years. A native of Dundalk she was educated in St Vincent’s Secondary…
If These Stones Could Talk: the History of Christianity in Britain and Ireland Through Twenty-One Buildings by Peter Stanford Hodder and Stoughton, €12.99/£10.99 Published two years ago in hardback, this book aimed at a popular readership now appears as a paperback and so becomes accessible to many who might have missed it. It runs from…
The Saint Mary’s Book of Christian Verse Chosen and introduced by Edward Short , with a foreword by Dana Gioia (Gracewing, £20.00 / €23.50) Edward Short is a writer and teacher who lives in New York City, and is already well known for his books relating to St John Henry Newman. This book sees itself…
A Gift of Joy and Hope by Pope Francis. Translated from the original Italian by Oonagh Stransky (Hodder & Stoughton, €17.99/£16.99) This title will be released on 29 September. This book by Pope Francis, his third official book, may seem to follow very quickly on the Pope’s recent pamphlet about the meaning of Christmas and the…