Adults

Angels in Iron

Book cover: 'Angels in Irons'
Author(s): 
Nicholas C Prata

Angels in Iron is the absorbing tale of the siege of Malta in 1564 between the Knights of St. John of the Hospital (a military religious order) and Suleiman's forces. Suleiman, the most famous sultan of the Turkish Ottoman Empire (who has at this point significantly expanded his empire) has grand plans to conquer the world - and that includes Malta, the new home of the Knights of St. John of the Hospital. The Grand Master of this order witnessed their surrender at Rhodes (their former home) when he was a young knight. Now he is determined to hold on to Malta to the bitter end.

The Last Crusader: Isabella of Spain

Book cover: 'The Last Crusader: Isabella of Spain'
Author(s): 
William Thomas Walsh

Queen Isabella (the Catholic) of Spain is one of the most influential and controversial women in history. She and her husband were responsible for supporting Columbus' voyages to the New World, the re-conquering of all of Spain from the Moors, the expulsion of the Jews, and the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition. Her daughter, Catherine of Aragon, was the unfortunate first wife of King Henry VIII of England (who founded the Anglican church because he didn't accept the Pope's refusal to grant him an annulment of his marriage to Catherine).

Creation Rediscovered

Book cover: 'Creation Rediscovered'
Author(s): 
Gerard Keane

This substantial book covering a wide range of topics relating to the great origins debate attempts to synthesize modern, largely Protestant, scientific arguments and evidence for a literal interpretation of the biblical creation story with Catholic teaching. Mr.

Surprised by Truth 2

Book cover: 'Surprised by Truth 2: 15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic'
Author(s): 
Patrick Madrid (ed.)

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.

Surprised by Truth

Book cover: 'Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic'
Author(s): 
Patrick Madrid (ed.)

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).

A Map of Life

Author(s): 
Frank Sheed

This is a really beautiful little book about morality and the Catholic Faith. It would make a great supplement for high school age or excellent reading for an adult. It's not too difficult to understand, but also interesting and really makes you think.

The author has this to say about the purpose of this book:

de-coding Da Vinci

Book cover: 'de-coding Da Vinci: The facts behind the fiction of The Da Vinci Code'
Author(s): 
Amy Welborn

The 2003 release of the novel The Da Vinci Code created one of the largest literary crazes in recent history. With sales of almost 6 million in its first year, the novel gained a cult-like following. Author Dan Brown's ability to blend fact and fiction left many readers questioning what they really knew of the origins of Christianity. News is now out that we can expect to see the story in theaters in about a year. Certainly viewers will come away with many of the same questions readers had as to how much, if any, of the story line is factual, and how much is fiction.

Beginning Apologetics 1: How to Explain and Defend the Catholic Faith

Author(s): 
Father Frank Chacon
Jim Burnham

When I first considered converting from a "mere Christianity" form of Protestantism to the Catholic faith, I had several issues to deal with. I believed that "Scripture alone" was the rule of faith. I thought that the Catholic Church had added several non-Biblical doctrines throughout the years -- for example, praying to Mary and the saints and the existence of Purgatory.