History

I have not yet read this story, but my daughter read it to herself and enjoyed it very much even though she already read St. Therese and the Roses.

Based on the 1st and 2nd book of Maccabees of the Douay-Rhiems version of the Bible, The Maccabees, Forgotten Heroes of Israel is an epic tale of faithfulness to God and heroism in the face of unbelievable odds.

With the exception of a few passages of dialogue, this tale is a narrative retelling. A typical passage reads as follows. "As soon as Judas had made an end of speaking, he rushed suddenly upon them. Seron and his host were overthrown before him. He pursued Seron by the descent of the Bethoron to the plain, and there fell eight hundred men of Seron's army; the rest fled into the land of the Philistines" (34).

Once Judas forms his army, a pattern seems to set in. A king, governor, or a commander of a huge force threatens to attack Judas and his men. Judas' men become fearful. He offers them encouragement, calling upon the Lord to protect them. This revives their spirits. Then they go out and slay several thousand. Throughout the story, there are enough twists and turns to keep the reader's interest.

Why so much bloodshed? They wanted to practice their faith freely without the threat of persecution, or even death. They also wanted to restore and rededicate the Temple.

The book also includes an Introduction by Warren H. Carroll, which offers historical background to the story, summarizing the plot and a Publishers Preface, which expresses his motive for bringing this story of manly heroism to print. The Maccabees, Forgotten Heroes of Israel makes this important story from the Old Testament come alive and accessible.

Recommended for ages 14 and up.

This collection includes all four stories (Midshipman Quinn, Quinn of the Fury, Midshipman Quinn and Denise the Spy, and Quinn at Trafalgar) of Midshipman Septimus Quinn, a junior officer of the British Navy from 1803-1805.

Septimus Quinn is a "small and studious" 15 year old who finds himself in the midst of all sorts of adventures fighting Napoleon under Lord Nelson. Daring naval assignments take him all over the Mediterannean as he really uses his head to deal with pirates, arrogant shipmates, runaway French patriots, clueless prison guards, etc. Complex escape plans, wild disguises and interesting sub-plots are par for the course. The reader will learn a great deal about ships and life at sea and the danger and excitement of sea battles amidst accounts of true historical events.The strategies of battle and other historical details are quite fascinating. The suspense and drama make it most appropriate for junior high and high school.

This new title from Bethlehem Books follows the tradition of Jeanne Bendick with her books on Archimedes and Galen by making scientific concepts accessible to ordinary people.

Dr. Wiker is a prolific author of articles on matters relating to science and the faith. He has taught at Thomas Aquinas College and Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Wiker takes us all the way back to the Neolithic era to begin his story of mankind's fascination with metals that started the development of the science of Chemistry. The various scientific characters that play a role in this story - from ancient Greek atomists to brilliant modern scholars - are interesting in and of themselves. We learn of the diligent John Dalton (1766-1844) who kept a daily journal called "Observations on the Weather" for 57 years; the daring and foolhardy Humphry Davy (1778-1829), who discovered laughing gas and a whole slew of elements, and Dimitrii Mendeleev (d. 1907) who discovered the order of the elements by 'playing cards.' A great deal of scientific content that led to the development of the Periodic Table is presented in these middle chapters. The content is made particularly accessible through Wiker's humorous, engaging style and the connections he makes between each scientist's interest in a particular subject and what that meant to scientific progress. He also has fun pointing out the errors scientists made that ironically caused some of the very greatest leaps in scientific knowledge.

The last three chapters can be a little harder to follow and students will benefit from working through them slowly and carefully studying the numerous diagrams. The publisher recommends that, although the book is generally accessible to ages 10 and up, these later chapters might be more understandable to slightly older children. I found that drawing up additional diagrams of my own helped me to follow the text better (particularly diagrams of the structures of the electron "shells"). Diligence in studying these last few chapters really pays off, though, as the final discoveries about the Periodic Table and the well-ordered nature of the relationships between the elements are absolutely fascinating.

Now, you might be asking yourself "Why would someone who teaches at Catholic colleges and writes for Catholic publications be so interested in the Periodic Table?" The answer is simple: The Periodic Table shows the relationships between the most basic elements that comprise everything on earth. It is phenomenal and mind-boggling how mathematically-ordered these elements are. This kind of order seen in nature is a powerful argument against random and chaotic theories of the origins of the world. I should also note that, although Dr. Wiker's interest in this topic is likely related to his faith, he never directly brings up the topic in his book. I'm really glad that he didn't. There's a time for laying it all on the table and a time for a little more subtlety. This sort of book allows readers to discover some of the "Wow!" of Science and later, gradually make the connection between the order of the elements and the awesomeness of the Creator who designed it all.

Highly and enthusiastically recommended! Probably the most fun I've ever had reading a science book. :)

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