December 2001

Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth About America's Top Schools

By the Staff of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Publisher: Eerdmans

Pages: 794

Price: $25

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute has done it again! This new edition of its college guide is indispensable for anyone trying to decide on a college or anyone interested in the state of higher education in America. William Bennett’s brief Introduction sets the standard by which the schools are judged, and the rest is an “explication of the good, the bad, and the ugly.” Prestige and past performance are disregarded, since it is the present in which the schools claim to be educating. Each school is examined in an essay that considers the core curriculum or lack thereof, the level of politicization, life on campus, and the religious presence on campus, among several other indicators of the validity of the college’s claim to be an institution of higher learning. Any parent with college-bound children ought to consult this book before (not so) little Johnny leaves for school — perchance to lose his soul.

Catholicism at the Millennium: The Church of Tradition in Transition

By Gerald L. Miller and Wilburn T. Stancil

Publisher: Rockhurst University Press

Pages: 218

Price: $20

This thoughtful collection of essays takes a serious look at both the state of, and the challenges facing, the Catholic Church today. It is a compilation of 11 essays that cover five general topics, ranging from liturgical music to modern philosophy’s attack on the Faith.

Rather than merely pointing out the existence of problems, these essays explore their roots and from these roots develop ideas for solutions. Some of the topics are controversial, and all are pertinent, some pressingly so, to the future of the Church. An eye-opening collection!

Anima Christi

By Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C

Publisher: Ignatius

Pages: 137

Price: $9.95

This beautiful meditation on the Anima Christi prayer examines each of the 11 petitions made to the crucified humanity of Christ with insights both timeless and timely. A devotion to this prayer, offered to the human hypostasis of Christ, is a vehicle by which to reaffirm the dignity of the human person.

Regardless of our spiritual depth, this wonderful book, with its colorful expressiveness, will give us a deeper understanding of the humanity of Christ, our relation to it, and most importantly, a greater love of the God-Man.