"A fresh and definitive biography in the context of Joan of Arc's times." - International Herald Tribune "Donald Spoto is one of the best biographers in the world today. " - Acclaimed biographer Mary S. Lovell, author of the national bestselling The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family "A magnificent introduction to one of the most misunderstood and controversial of all the saints." - James Martin, SJ, editor of America Magazine, author of My...

"When Pope Pius XII died in 1958, his papers were sealed in the Vatican Secret Archives, leaving unanswered questions about what he knew and did during World War II. Those questions have only grown and festered, making Pius XII one of the most controversial popes in Church history, especially now as the Vatican prepares to canonize him. In 2020, Pius XII's archives were finally opened, and David I. Kertzer--widely recognized as one of the world's...

"The Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade declared that the Constitution protected decisions regarding abortion--but the debate was far from over, continuing to be a political battleground to this day. In the decades since the case was decided, the American debate on abortion has moved away from the issues that the justices confronted more than three decades ago. Bringing to light key documents that illuminate the case and its political context,...

"How does a person become Hitler's enemy number one? Not through espionage or violence, it turns out, but by striking fearlessly at the intellectual and spiritual roots of National Socialism. Dietrich von Hildebrand was a German Catholic thinker and teacher who devoted the full force of his intellect to breaking the deadly spell of Nazism that ensnared so many of his beloved countrymen. His story might well have been lost to us were it not for this...

"A behind-the-scenes, revelatory account of John F. Kennedy's wily campaign to the White House, beginning with his bold, failed attempt to win the vice presidential nomination in 1956. A young and undistinguished junior plots his way to the presidency and changes the way we nominate and elect presidents. John F. Kennedy and his young warriors invented modern presidential politics. They turned over accepted wisdom that his Catholicism was a barrier...

Contains the full text of important speeches from ancient times through the Second World War. Moses, Cicero, and Julius Caesar are among the representatives of Hebrews, Greeks and Romans. Early Christianity is illustrated through the words of Jesus of Nazareth (the Sermon on the Mount) and Pope Urban II, calling for the first crusade. The period of Renaissance and Reformation features the words of Savonarola, Luther, Queen Elizabeth, and John Donne....