To Kidnap a Pope: Napoleon and Pius VII by Ambrogio A. Caini (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, £ 20.00 / €24.00) Frank Litton Of all the themes in European history, the relationship between Church and state, religion and politics, has had the greatest impact in making Europe what it is. With the French Revolution,…

God is Not a White Man: And other revelations by Chine McDonald (London: Hodder & Stoughton, £16.99 / €19.70 ) Kevin Hargaden Have you ever noticed the way tights are marketed? The hosiery section of Marks and Spencer is an unlikely place to experience a revelation, but God can use any means to illuminate us. Dispatched…

Revolutionary: Who Was Jesus? Why Does He Still Matter? edited by Tom Holland (SPCK Publishing), £19.99 / €23.99 It is a very popular question today to ask ‘who is X’? The answer expected is one that must, in a few short sentences, sum-up exactly who X is. That is an ambitious target, so to add on a second…

From the Grand Canal to the Dodder: Illustrious Lives by Beatrice M. Doran The History Press, £20.00/€23.00 With the lifting of restrictions and the prospect of fine summer weather many people will be thinking of getting out and about in Dublin and elsewhere exploring localities and trying to find out about their past history and the…

The Irish to the Rescue: The Tercentenary of the Polish Princess Clementina’s Escape by Richard K. Maher (Peter Lang, Oxford, €39.95) This is a collection of papers presented to a seminar to commemorate the rescue and escape of the Polish princess, Maria Clementina Sobieska from Innsbruck in August 1719. Maria Clementina was born on July 18,…

Ignatian Spirituality and Interreligious Dialogue: Reading Love’s Mystery by Michael Barnes SJ (Messenger Publications, €24.95/£22.95) In medieval times there was a curious contrast between pilgrims to Jerusalem – whose minds were fixed on the Christian experience – and travellers such as Marco Polo, who went beyond Jerusalem and encountered on their explorations a great range of…

Ballymacandy. The Story of an Ambush by Owen O’Shea (Merrion Press €14.95) Joe Carroll  The first day of this month was the centenary of the IRA ambush at Ballymacandy of 12 RIC/Black and Tan policemen. It was a one-sided fight with 59 listed IRA men against the cycling policemen who were coming back from Tralee to…

Saints, Scholars, Heroes by Fr Éamon Flanagan CM (Kolbe Publications; ISBN: 9-780952-962724; €7.00+postage) This is a collection of poems about people, places and events and much more besides. They are written from a Christian and communitarian perspective, are immensely personal and are imbued with a Catholic sensibility. Fr Éamon Flanagan celebrates in verse Fr Eamon O’Hara…

Simone Weil for the Twenty-First Century by Eric O. Springsted (University of Notre Dame Press, US$35.00 pb/£25.00 pb) The Subversive Simone Weil: A life in five ideas by Robert Zaretsky (University of Chicago Press, US$20.00 hb/£16.00 hb) Frank Litton What theologians, philosophers, public intellectuals who hold centre-stage today will still be highly regarded and their work studied 80…

Naoibhein Ri Naomh Calum Cille/Nóibhéine Do Naomh Colm Cille/A Novena to Saint Columba by Fr Ross S. J. Crichton (Mungo Books/CTS, £3.95; ISBN 978-1-78469-658-0; bulk orders to Mungo Books, 6 Rob Roy Gardens, Kirkintilloch, Glasgow G661DQ) This little book marks a revival of the Mungo Books imprint, whose principal focus will be on publications of Scottish…