The Four Gospels: Following in the Footsteps of Jesus by Maurice Hogan SSC (Veritas, €14.99) This interesting book on the four Gospels seems to have grown directly out of the author’s own experiences. Fr Maurice Hogan is a Columban Father. After he was ordained, back in 1965, he went out to the Far East, working…
Tidings of Comfort and Joy: A Christmas Feast of Faith and Fun by Pam Rhodes (Hodder & Stoughton, £14.99) Pam Rhodes will be familiar to many as the presenter of that ever popular BBC offering Songs of Praise. This selection of hymns, poems and thoughts was intended for Christmas, but then Christmas is not just…
Padre Pio of Pietrelcina: a brief biography by Fr Francesco Napolitano (Columba Press, €14.99) Padre Pio was canonised by Pope John Paul II on June 16, 2002, to the great delight of his many devotees around the world, especially here in Ireland. Francesco Forgione, the new saint, was born in the village of Pietrelcina, near…
The ghosts of Lafcadio Hearn The Little Museum of Dublin has been running an exhibition devoted to Lafcadio Hearn, “the writer on Japan”, as the reference books once used to say. The revival of interest in Hearn in Ireland has been due to the enthusiasm of former ambassador Paul Murray, who through his biography of…
The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros written by Galawdewos, translated and edited by Wendy Laura Belcher & Michael Kleiner (Princeton University Press, £27.95) Here is a really remarkable book on which to begin the New Year, a book that will open up for many a new horizon of Christian culture and faith.…
Joe Carroll Power Play. The Rise of Modern Sinn Féin by Deaglán De Bréadún (Merrion Press, €17.99) This valuable book is all, or nearly all, you need to know about Sinn Féin under Gerry Adams, as the party gears itself to enter the corridors of power after this year’s general election. The author, an experienced political…
A Century of Life… Imagine That! by Máire Godfrey (Impress Printing, €15.00hb; contact mairegodfreyacenturyoflife@gmail.com). The provenance of this book is unique. It was written by Mrs Máire Godfrey as part of the celebrations to mark her 100th birthday. Owing to the extraordinary developments in medicine and the remarkable enhancement of physical and social conditions, the elderly…
These days the Christmas story has become – with the star over the stable, the infant in the manger, the shepherds, the three kings and the wicked King Herod – so familiar that we rarely if ever look back to see what the Gospels actually say about the Nativity. It often surprises readers to find…
Recorded by Marco Polo, circa 1272
Some of our regular reviewers share with readers their choices among the books published this year, which most impressed them during their reading and reviewing through the course of 2015. The prices quoted are the publishers’ recommended prices, in either euros or pounds, and they may vary from outlet to outlet. FELIX M. LARKIN…
Peter Costello