One Hundred Great Catholic Books

July 23, 2007
Brophy, who assembles short, 300-word reviews of the best books ever written by Catholics, asserts that “people are Catholic, books are not.” As a longtime editor at the Catholic book publisher Paulist Press and author of The Story of Catholics in America
, he is eminently qualified for the job and carries it out beautifully. In the introduction, Brophy spells out what qualifies a book for his list. First, it must have “nourished Catholic Christians and many other seekers over the centuries.” Second, the book must be of interest to general readers, meaning that professional theologians like Karl Rahner were disqualified. Reviews are arranged chronologically, beginning with the Sayings and Stories of the Desert Fathers
and ending with Paul Elie's contemporary classic, The Life You Save May Be Your Own
. Brophy acknowledges the arbitrariness of his endeavor, but it's a judicious collection. Some choices will be familiar to readers while others will be unexpected; for example, some readers may not know that Black Elk (the Sioux spiritual leader) was a Catholic convert. Brophy approaches his reviews as a believer, so that in the end any person of faith who is passionate about books will find a kind of spiritual catechism.

October 15, 2007
This work is essentially an annotated bibliography of 100 books uniquely selected and summarized by Brophy, formerly an editor with the Catholic book publisher Paulist Press. Brophy does not claim the list is definitive or exhaustive; it is, he writes, merely based on personal choice and appropriate for a general audience. The approximately two-page entries are chronologically arranged, beginning with early Christian sayings from the Desert Fathers and ending with biographical considerations of such authors as Thomas Merton, Dorothy Day, Walker Percy, and Flannery O'Connor. Other topics examined in these reflective essays include German theologian Meister Eckhart, the 19th-century encyclical "Rerum Novarum" ("Of New Things"), the documents of Vatican II, and Patricia Hampl's "Virgin Time". The succinct considerations address the historical or contemporary context of the work, explain the significance of the author, and contain a brief synopsis of the actual title. Many literary genres are covered: e.g., biography, philosophy, poetry, theological writings, sermons, commentaries, and fiction. Brophy hopes this collection will both inspire others to read the cited texts and demonstrate the versatility characteristic of Catholic literature through the centuries. Recommended for personal consumption and reflection.John-Leonard Berg, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Platteville

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