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Surprised by Truth

11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic
Book cover: Surprised by Truth
Author(s): 
Patrick Madrid (editor)
Number of pages: 
269 pages
Copyright: 
1994
ISBN: 
978-0964261082
Publisher: 
Basilica Press
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Apologetics
Conversion Stories
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Adults
Review: 

These are relatively short (usually about 20 or 30 pages each) autobiographical essays from Catholic converts. The stories cover a numer of converts who are becoming well-known for their vibrant Catholic ministries of various sorts, and so you may have heard the names Marcus Grodi, James Akin, Steve Wood, Tim Staples and Dave Armstrong before). Because of the variety of authors, the reading levels and vocabulary used vary greatly - some are simple and succinct and others more complex - but all are compelling in their own way; all help to shed more light on what it means to be a Catholic and why the Catholic Church is so different from other beliefs. Although primarily intended for adults, the book would make excellent apologetics reading for high schoolers because it provides a wealth of information and "holy ammunition" in intellectual battles with non-Catholics.

Perspective: 
Catholic
Reviewed by: 
Alicia Van Hecke
First reviewed: 
4-26-01

Surprised by Truth 2

15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic
Book cover: Surprised by Truth 2
Author(s): 
Patrick Madrid (ed.)
Patrick Madrid
Number of pages: 
298 pages
Copyright: 
2000
ISBN: 
9781928832188
Publisher: 
Sophia Institute Press
Binding: 
Softcover
Sample Pages
Subject(s): 
Apologetics
Conversion Stories
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Adults
Review: 

The sequel to Surprised by Truth provides even more stories of how the grace of God, the witness of others and important conversations about the truth, brought these men and women back to the fullness of the Cahtolic faith.

Perspective: 
Catholic
Reviewed by: 
Alicia Van Hecke
First reviewed: 
4-26-01

Surprised by Truth 3

10 More Converts Explain the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic
Book cover: 'Surprised by Truth 3'
Author(s): 
Patrick Madrid (ed.)
Number of pages: 
320 pages
Copyright: 
2002
ISBN: 
1928832598
Publisher: 
Sophia Institute Press
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Conversion Stories
Grade / Age level: 
Mature Teens
Adults
Review: 
This third collection in the series features the stories of ten more converts. As with the previous collections, these make great reading for those inquiring into the Catholic faith. Each story also invites those of us already blessed to be Catholic to a deeper understanding of our own Faith in areas in which many struggle, such as: materialism and doubts about the supernatural, answering the challenge to seek the truth, marriage and sexuality, and separated groups ranging from anti-Catholic Protestants to "More Catholic than the Pope." It never fails to amaze me how many different routes there are to the one Truth. Well-known Catholic writers Carl Olson, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, and Pete Vere are among the converts and reverts in this volume. This particular set of stories includes one, entitled "Sex, Lies, and the Catholic Church," that parents may want to preview before giving it to their children to read. As the title indicates, issues of sexuality are raised, specifically contraception, cohabitation, premarital sex, sterilization, and adultery. Another story ("More Catholic Than the Pope" no More) mentions the writer's previous involvement in satanism. I consider the book appropriate for mature teens and adults.
Reviewed by: 
Suchi Myjak
First reviewed: 
7-25-2008

The Good Land

Author(s): 
Loula Grace Erdman
Number of pages: 
185 pages
Publisher: 
Bethlehem Books
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Historical Fiction
Setting: 
United States
Pioneer
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Elementary
Review: 
Years ago the telephone company ran an ad that sang, “Reach out, reach out and touch someone.” But what if you were too afraid to reach out? What if you were too ashamed of your new circumstances to ask for help? That is the situation for the Warren family, a family that moves to the Texas Panhandle in The Good Land. Carolyn is the youngest member of the Pierce family. At fifteen, she feels on the verge of adulthood. In her mind, however, everyone seems to treat her as the “baby” of the family and she resents it. Can’t they see how mature she is? After all, she is going to Amarillo to a real high school in the fall. Amarillo will be a whole new adventure for Carolyn. She wonders what living in the city will be like. She wonders if she will have any friends. She wonders if she will miss her family, even though she will be living with her sister. In the meantime, however, Carolyn wants to reach out and help the new family that has moved into the area, especially Rowena a girl almost her age. But after two local boys play a mean trick on them, the father wants nothing to do with the local farmers. That is until a prairie fire threatens to destroy the Warren home, livestock, and land. Will everyone join together in time to save the Warren family? Loula Grace Erdman expresses an intuitive understanding of a young teenage girl’s heart, all her secret desires and threatening fears. The Good Land is both an engaging read and an uplifting story. The exciting plot carries the reader along, while at the same time developing the characters’ virtues. The purity and goodness of the characters shines through even as they struggle with their faults. Although the book is part of a highly recommended series, The Good Land stands on its own. In the end, Carolyn finds out that growing up can be both complicated and wonderful. With quite the dramatic ending, The Good Land is also a beautiful unfolding of a love story as love stories should be, focusing on relationships and character, especially kindness to others under all circumstances. Your daughter won’t want to miss this uplifting story of courage and kindness.
Additional notes: 

The Panhandle Series is set in the 1890's..

First reviewed: 
4-9-2008

Peter: Keeper of the Keys

Cover: 'Peter: Keeper of the Keys'
Author(s): 
Steve Ray
Copyright: 
2003
Publisher: 
Ignatius Press
Subject(s): 
Biographies
Apologetics
Church History
Bible Study Helps
Setting: 
Early Church
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Adults
Resource Type: 
DVD
Review: 
This is a fascinating travel/apologetics documentary focusing on the story of Saint Peter as related in the New Testament. Apologist Steve Ray travels to Rome and many sites in the Holy Land to tell Peter's story. He provides fascinating details of the connections between particular places and important events in Peter's life. This would make a great supplement to a Bible study, an apologetics lesson on the Papacy, a geography unit on the Middle East or simply an important part of Church history. Our teen discussion group watched this together just after reading the chapter in Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth on Peter's Confession and the story of the Transfiguration. The DVD tied into these themes very nicely. We very much enjoyed the professional quality of this video that is packed with theological and geographical insights, connections with Old Testament History and a nice visual perspective to well-known Bible stories. The format is engaging and the visuals help make the particulars of the story quite memorable. I would suggest that this is best for high school and adult viewers, but some younger viewers might enjoy it after a parental preview.
Reviewed by: 
Alicia Van Hecke
First reviewed: 
4-17-2008

Founders of Freedom

Book cover: 'Founders of Freedom'
Author(s): 
Sister M. Benedict Joseph SNJM
Number of pages: 
296 pages
Copyright: 
1954
Publisher: 
Neumann Press
Binding: 
Sewn Hardcover
Subject(s): 
World History
Grade / Age level: 
Elementary
Resource Type: 
Text
Review: 
This first volume in the Catholic American history program, Land of Our Lady, is intended for the fourth grade. It overviews history from Creation to just before Columbus' voyage in 1492. The focus is mostly on Western History - Europe and the Middle East - but Ancient China is also touched upon. Emphasis is placed on the origins of democracy and people in history who were instrumental in its development in various forms (as a preparation for the study of American History - this year's text develops the "background"). The text is very Catholic with a great deal of attention given to Saints who had a role in history and the Catholic Church's influence on civilization. Also included between each Unit are a Marian hymn (with a black and white illustration of Our Lady) and the history of the hymn. While some more controversial issues such as the Inquisition aren't covered (which is reasonable for a 4th grade text), I was happy to see the author point out some of the good and bad of events such as the Crusades. This balanced presentation of history is more helpful for students who have to prepare themselves to defend their Faith in the future.

The text is readable and interesting (although do keep in mind that I LOVE history), but still rather textbookish. Because it is an overview, many topics are covered rather briefly and the "stories" of history aren't present. There are a rather large quantity of written problems, activities and other reviews designed to reinforce the ideas in the text. I would be inclined to only use some of the written problems and instead supplement with some "living books" (stories from History), such as those listed on our Timeline of Good History Reading.

Quibble:
Additional notes: 
This book was donated for review by Neumann Press
Reviewed by: 
Alicia Van Hecke
First reviewed: 
3-2-2000

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Movie)

Shot from 'Fellowship of the Ring' movie
Copyright: 
2001
Publisher: 
New Line Films
Subject(s): 
Fantasy
Adventure
Resource Type: 
Video Tape
DVD
Review: 
What a happy thing, especially after all the Harry Potter fuss, to have such a revival in interest in the great Lord of the Rings trilogy because of this new movie (if Harry Potter leads people to Tolkien, I couldn't say much against him). I really believe (and I have noticed this with children of neighbors and friends) that in the end Lord of the Rings tends to be more beloved than Harry Potter. Although Harry Potter can be a little more accessible to younger and/or less experienced readers, the Lord of the Rings is a real adventure story, whereas Harry Potter is more of a fantasy/mystery with a much smaller scope. The Lord of the Rings movies are also making the books more accessible to a new generation of fans.

Overall, Tolkien fans (who are considered rather "fussy") seem to be rather pleased with the movie, and with good reason. Although it's very difficult to turn such a complex and imaginative story into a movie, and the movie will certainly never replace the book, overall I think the movie-makers did a fantastic job. First, and most importantly, I think they captured the overall themes (the temptation of power, the reality of evil, etc.) very well. The characters are very well-cast and quite believable. As might be expected in a movie version, the plot is simplified, several characters are compressed into one, etc. The neat thing is that significant portions of dialogue are taken directly from the book and the essentials of the plot are really quite faithful to the original story. My husband and I (who have both read the books) enjoyed the movie very much. Since we were expecting the birth of a child at the time and she decided to arrive significantly past her due date, we were able to see the movie twice in the theater, which is a real rarity for us.

For those unfamiliar with the books, this first part of three books introduces us to the main characters in the story - Hobbits - and the other races of Middle Earth - dwarves, elves, men and wizards. We see the beauty of the hobbits' homeland - the Shire - and their simplicity and love of nature. We are introduced to Bilbo who discovered "the Ring" and prepares to leave it to his nephew Frodo. When Gandalf discovers the true identity of the ring - the One Ring that was forged by the evil Lord Sauron to control all living things - Frodo sets out to bring the ring to a safer place and thus begins his quest.

This movie is not intended for young children. The story is very complex and focuses on major conflicts between good and evil. Turning it into a movie without making it silly and laughable creates rather intense cinema. Happily the moviemakers sought a PG-13 rather than an R rating and thus there is almost no blood and gore and no bad language or other objectionable content. The movie does, of course, portray battle and action scenes and a number of rather frightening creatures that some young children find too scary even when reading the book. It is sometimes easier to allow younger children to watch this sort of movie when it is released to video/DVD where the entire effect is less intense and scenes may be edited at will.

Although I think that watching the movie will lead many people to pick up the book, I think it best to read the book before seeing the movie so that one's first impressions in the imagination come directly from the book rather than another's re-creation of it. Parents, in particular, might do well to read the book before seeing the movie because, particularly if they aren't regular movie-goers, I think the violence and intensity wouldn't make much sense without being familiar with the plot and themes.

The extended version of the movie, which was released to video and DVD in November 2002, is really worth seeing. It incorporates 30 minutes of additional footage into the movie which helps make the story more understandable and enjoyable, but made the movie too long for the theatrical release.

Additional notes: 

Rated PG-13 (Violence)

Reviewed by: 
Alicia Van Hecke
First reviewed: 
1-2-03

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