The little known Oxford Archaeological Guides series provides information that you cannot find elsewhere. This guide was written by Amanda Claridge in 1998 and gives information about many of the archaeological sites of Rome. Sites are described in great detail with an emphasis on how the site might have looked in ancient times and changes occurring over centuries. Famous artifacts that were once part of these sites are described and their present locations are mentioned. You learn where in the baths of Caracalla the famous Farnese Hercules and Farnese Bull were located and you learn how they came to be in the archaeological museum at Naples. There are little known sites like the tomb of the Scipios as well as places as familiar as the Piazza Navona and the Colloseum. Obscure but fascinating information is given: the great brick reinforcing wedge on the southeast side of the Colloseum was built in 1807: I have not seen this information anywhere else. The oval Piazza Navona is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian of 86 AD; the stores that line its periphery are built on top of the ancient seating. This book would not be suitable as the only guidebook to take with you on a trip, the information provided is far too specialized. I'd recommend taking along the Michelin Green guide or the Knopf guide for Rome as well. Some minor drawbacks: the drawings and maps are not as detailed as they could be and the few photographs that are provided are black and white and of poor quality. These complaints are not critical flaws; the book would still be invaluable even if it didn't contain a single illustration.

This book delivers what the cover promises. It's a thorough guide to what the city of Rome still has of the physical remains of the original inhabitants, of the Etruscans, of the Roman Republic, and of the Roman Empire. If you're going to Rome and you care about those things, take the time to read this book before you go. If you read it after you come back, you'll just have to plan another visit. If you're not going to Rome, but care about Roman history, then Ms. Claridge will give you some concrete (and marble) facts to add to the titillating stories of the emperor's peccadilloes that you've heard from Hollywood and that fuddy-duddy Classics professor.

I saw this book randomly in a bookstore before I had ever been to Rome, and decided to buy it. The diagrams and maps inside were interesting even to scan, and the description of the sites and their history gave me a better sense of what I wanted to see on my trip. When in Rome, I carried this book everywhere. In addition to the standard highlights -- detailed descriptions of each item on the Forum, the Upper Via Sacra, the Palatine, etc. -- this book had coverage of the archeological sites that seem to be on random street corners throughout Rome. If I came across something that looked interesting, I could look it up on the maps, then find the text. Often, there would be a helpful diagram of the original site layout that allowed me to make sense of what stones were standing (and often there aren't many). The book also lists gems of archeological sites that I never would have planned to see had I not read parts of it before my trip. That said, this book has more detail than the casual tourist needs or wants. Much more. But if you want to spend several days delving around ancient Rome, then this book deserves your attention.

Pope John Paul II has given us one of the best (if not the best) books of modern theology today. This book is a compilation of many weekly addresses the Pope gave in the early 80's. Now compiled into this one work, we can view the absolute genius of the mind of Pope JPII. His insights into humanity, creation, the human person and the body are without equal. In fact, he may be known for this work more than any other when history judges him in the future. He has given the Church new insights into the dignity of the human person, marriage,... and made it challenging to all of us.

If you haven't read any of the Pope's writings, I suggest you start with his encyclicals, and study them hard, before jumping into this work. The Theology of the Body has already started several grass-roots evangelism projects and my guess is that we are only starting to see the fruit this book will bear.

The Theology of the Body is comparable in depth of thought to the works of Augustine and Aquinas.

The writings speak to a reader at numerous levels: the personal, the organizational, global, sacramental, familial, paternal, maternal, fraternal, vocational, scriptural, anthropological and many others. The beauty is the integration of teachings at and across each level!

The teachings encapsulated within this work synthesize many truths about humanity and Catholic Christianity.

The book's writings shed light on the fullness of Truth revealed in and over the fullness of time. What was implied in the truth of the Gospel is revealed in a more explicit way in the Pope's analysis.

Topics of interest include: the dignity of the human person, the human body in art versus pornography, the intended relationship between man and woman from the beginning - in the present - and future, what the physical human body reveals about the nature of the person and God, the call to Chastity and Modesty, the universal call to holiness, the mystery of Body of Christ, the mystery of the priesthood, celibacy, and the mystery of the Eucharist and much, much more.

The book is a difficult read if you are not familiar with the Pope's method... but well worth it!!

Those with a philosophical background may regard JPII's leaning toward phenomenology as either a peripheral "quirk" or a departure from traditional (i.e., Aristotelian-Thomist) realism. "Theology of the Body" should dissuade of either conclusion. JPII's approach to phenomenology is foundational to his celebration of human personhood, and totally realist and thus thoroughly compatible with traditional Christian philosophy. The theological significance of JPII's philosophical approach is clearly demonstrated in his phenomenological exegesis of the existential signficance of man's transition from "original solitude" (before Eve's creation) to "original nakedness" (Adam's encounter with Eve). JPII's meditation on how man's personal self-awareness - and thus his personhood - is fulfilled through the bodily disclosure of another person literally "fleshes out" the teaching of the universal Catechism: God is an eternal exchange of Love, in which man is destined to participate (CCC 221). I only regret that the Pope did not develop the analogy implicit in his meditation between the purely relational Personhood of the Blessed Trinity and the nuptial meaning of the human body.

Jak w piosence, Goralu, po co ci bylo... Mysle, ze Roman madrzej by robil, gdyby wrocil do ojczyzny po wojnie, ozenil sie i mial dzieci, ktore roslyby w slawie ojca. A tak, Polak, wieczny tulacz.. takie wspaniale geny pokolenia znakomitego przepadly, dzieci wyrosly na nie wiadomo kogo, jakichs malo rozumnych Anglikow. W Polsce pozostala niewielka grupa madrych i patriotycznych ludzi i teraz mamy efekty - politycy niezbyt madrzy, wiele glupoty naokolo. Pokolenie wspanialych ludzi albo zginelo w Powstaniu Warszawskim albo zostalo na emigracji. Gdyby wszyscy wrocili zaraz po wojnie, moze nie byloby tak zle i moze nie daliby sie oglupic, takze nie wierze, ze wsadzono by wszystkich do wiezien. Byliby sila moralna i oparciem. Jaka szkoda szkoda szkoda...

Czytalam z duza przyjemnoscia, zainteresowaniem i wiele razy ze wspolczuciem losy przedstawionego bohatera. Nie jest to czlowiek sukcesu w pojeciu amerykanskim, ktore od dawna wysmiewa cala Europa. Jest to czlowiek prawy, szlachetny. Pokazana jest prawda, takie jest zycie wiekszosci ludzi na swiecie, i od jakiegos czasu Hollywood wychodzi takiej prawdzie na przeciw, czym przypomina dobre kino europejskie. Bez upiekszania i makijazu. Dla mnie ksiazka ta pokazuje uzaleznienie czlowieka od historii, jak czasy, w ktorych zyjemy dyktuja nam zycie. Podoba mi sie obiektywne spojrzenie autorki, bez upiekszania, bez podanych gotowych wnioskow. Pokazala jedno zycie czlowieka, ktorego starczyloby na caly film. Wzruszyl, poruszyl i zachwycil mnie opis ziem, opis Kresow, o ktorych tylko wiem troche z historii. Jaka szkoda, ze te ziemie od nas odeszly, z nimi takie rodziny patriotyczne, jak rodzina Rodziewiczow. Przeminelo z wiatrem... Nostalgiczne opisy przyrody, straszna prawda obozow zaglady, smutek emigranctwa. I ciezka praca, rodizna, ktora jest jak wiekszosc, wszyscy sa zajeci soba. Potem na koniec zycia, zycie refleksja, wspomnieniami. Ciekawa jestem, czy bohater zyje.

Nauczylam sie z ksiazki wiele o historii wielu Polakow ostatnich lat, znanych nam z ksiazke, albo wcale nie znanaych. I jakby ukorzylam sie przed losem, ktory gotuje takie scenariusze. Moje zycie wydaje mi sie latwiejsze, ale tez burza dziejowa nie przerwala moich planow, co najwyzej, sama jestem za slaba, by je realizowac. W sumie wydaje mi sie moje zycie nijakie. Na pewno mniej barwne, bolesnie mniej barwne, porownujac do zycia bohatera. I jakby ani on, ani ja, nie mamy na to wplywu. Ksiazka jest zrodlem wiedzy na pewno dla historykow, ale takze dla socjolgow i psychologow. Polecam ksiazke tym, ktorzy chca myslec ogolnie o zyciu wlasnym, czy ludzi staszych w naszej rodzinie. Dla ktorych czesto nie mamy czasu lub ich ignorujemy z jakas nasza wyzszoscia pokolenia, ktore nie doswiadczylo wojny. Ciekawe, jaka ksiazke o mnie napisala by pani Aleksandra Ziolkowska? O podworku, na ktorym sie bawilam, ciezko pracujacych rodzicach,o wyjazdach na wies do dziadkow, ktorych to wyjazdow nie cierpialam, i teraz o nijakim codziennym zyciu. Mimo ukonczonych studiow, mimo tego, ze mam mozliwosc lektur ciekawych ksiazek. To, co powiem, brzmi jak herezja, ale taka mysl mi przychodzi do glowy: Moze wojna wywolalaby cos powazniejszego i wazniejszego, znalazlabym glebszy cel w zyciu i jakies wielkie uczucie, chocby roztrzaskane...

O Hubalu slyszalam w szkole, teraz dowiedzialam o jednym z jego zolnierzy. Ale ksiazka jest o losie czlowieka, ktorego jak w harcerskiej piosence rzucalo po swiecie "z miejsca na miejsce". Mysle, ze lepiej byloby, gdyby bohater wrocil do Polski i tam juz zostal. Wzruszylam sie, gdy sie spotkal po latach z dawna narzeczona, i jak to byli juz inni ludzie. Jego emigracja potraktowala okrutnie. Pokazalam moim rodzicom i wszyscy bardzo przejelismy sie przedstawionym zyciem Romana. Pamietam, byl film "Hubal", powinien powstac film "Roman" w oparicu o tej ksiazke. Ma ona wrecz gotowe obrazy, czytalam ja widzac wyraznie przedstawione postaci i sceny. Niezwykle piekne sa opisy dawnych polskich ziem na Kresach i dworu. Przypomina ma ta ksiazka "Szczeniece lata" Wankowicza.

The Abbey of Gethsamani was the first Trappist monastery in the USA,brought over by French monks in the mid 1800's. It was, of course most famous as the home of the late thomas merton[fr. Louis, o.c.s.o},author of the 7 storey Mountain and over 70 other books, diaries etc. it is through Merton that most of us heard first of this place located in the hills of Kentucky.Ms. Aprile has, along with the abbey's collection of photographs and articles, put together a simply beautiful book. there is so much more here tehn the late great Fr. Merton. The periods are divided into the various abbots tenures,leading up to the near present and Abbot Timothy Kelly{who resinged as abbot last winter} The history of not only the monastery and its environs is told, but more, the history of American Catholicism is here. Every major catholic figure,ecclisiastic or secular made their way through Gethsemaniat one point,and much of it is chronicled here. the photos are wonderful and evocative, the care taken with this book is evident throughout.the book itself is handsome to hold, the pages of fine quality,heavy bonded paper,the photos crisp and clear. A very well done book, highest quality highly, hugely recommended.

I highly recommend this beautiful book not only for the photos but for the rich spiritual content, when you open it you feel like opening a family album

Being a native of Bardstown, Kentucky, I immediately got hold of the first copy of this book I could find. I am a video production editor for a local television station in Bardstown and have always been much aware of Gethsemani. However, this book has provided with much information that I never before was aware of. Thanks to the author for writing and putting this book together. It is beautifully done. And for anyone who hasn't ever been to Gethsemani, come on down and experience it for you'll never forget it... -John A. Coulter

I read this book when it was new and even though it came out in 1981, it is just as true now as it was then. I think if people knew what abortion really is, they would be horrified and ashamed to have called themselves "pro-choice." After having an abortion, many women have read this book and realize their pre-abortion "counseling" was totally wrong and incomplete and they had not had enough information to make an "informed choice." No one told them what an abortion really was, a planned death of their child. Had they read this book ahead of time, they probably wouldn't have had an abortion. I speak from experience. This should be required reading in every classroom that teaches "sex education."

This was a great book, I coundn't put it down until I was finsished! It's a pretty easy read, that covers abortion itself. It doens't condem or send a hate message to anyone, it sends the message of love to human life and that life must be respected also that pro-life people like myself are not insensitive people but that we care and love the babies and the woman as well. Also it talks about how many babies are experimented on and the "behind the secenes of what really goes on in an abortion clinc." also it breifly talks about the pain of euthansia and just how horrible that is in itself. it's a must read to both pro-choice and pro-life!

This is one of the very few books I have been able to read from cover to end. It displays both mantalities behind abortion, pro-life and pro-choice. It also is a book which opens your eyes to the world's ways today. I believe that every person should read this book. I recommend it highly.

There are a lot of books on the market today that fall into the inspirational category. This one really lives up to the category because it is genuine. It is a real sharing of the things that make us human and its comforting to know that we are not alone in our struggles and our joys.

This book is truly a gift to all who need some time to stop and reflect for awhile. Through stories that make you want to laugh, and stories that bring you to tears, Mary enables the reader to see the humor, the irony and the sacred in everyday. A "must read" for parents and teachers and other "soul-journers."

it's an amazing book! I found myself laughing and crying throughout the whole book! lots of her experiences were my own, and her insight helped me see the humor and spirituality in everyday life!

This is not a book to read, but to listen to. Its a great intro to an often misunderstood part of the Christian experience. It takes prayer out of its formulary Sunday morning approach and places it at the center of life, where it should be. This is a low impact, no wrong answers, don'[t worry if you don't get it the first time, way to worship God. I shared it with a friend at church who is involved with parish prayer groups and he's going to introduce it to them. It lends itself to a 12/14 week study in prayer and spirituality.

This book, as promised by the subtitle ("Easing Into Contemplative Prayer") gently teaches you to bring yourself into intimate conversation with God.

The tone of this book is gentle and light, and yet it has a great many insights to impart.
I've very much enjoyed reading it and will definitely be reading it again. - It never hurts to repeatedly read a good book, to get it ingrained in you - so that it becomes a sort of second nature sort of thing - yes ?
Assuming that you'll want to read more then one book, on such an indepth topic as centering/contemplative prayer, please refer to the above recommended books.

This book is wonderful for those of us whom don't have the time to pray the complete Liturgy of the Hours. Very compact and travel friendly, I am able to pray during my morning and evening commute to/from work...

Published for use in all the US Roman Catholic Dioceses (and many international ones too) and fully approved by the Bishop's Committee on the Liturgy, National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Excellent and user friendly. Highly recommended.

This set of prayers is a daily offering of psalms, readings, and other prayers to help direct one towards God.
I have the four-volume set of the liturgy, but find those volumes are difficult to carry with me when I am traveling, or when I am visiting a place where I will have some time to pray and just want to carry a smaller book in my pocket. What you do lose is the complete set of prayers (such as the Office of Readings and various holy days), and you do have to use more place-markers, but it's a wonderful companion that I'd rather not be without.

Like an earlier reviewer, I also own the four-volume set of the Liturgy of the Hours. I do enjoy the additional readings and the somewhat nerdy activity of finding my way around the complete liturgy. But for pure prayer value, "Shorter Christian Prayer" is the book. It has the entire four-week psalter for the key prayers of the day, Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, as well as the same Night Prayers as the larger volumes. What it is missing are the special readings and intercessions for feasts and memorials--but even those special days are built around the same psalms printed here. For me, on my commute, Shorter Christian Prayer is less distracting and much nicer in the hand than the standard Christian Prayer or Liturgy of the Hours. It has larger print than either. It has the gospel canticles printed on the inside covers, a brilliant idea. Plus it is a LOT cheaper.

"Summa Contra Gentiles: Book One: God" is St. Thomas Aquinas' work in which he proclaims his philosophy of God. While differing from his Summa Theologica in form, it does bear it some resemblance. It consists of 102 chapters, each of which postulates a particular attribute of God. Each chapter then proves the postulated attribute by the application of philosophical reasoning. Support of authority, Scriptural or otherwise,. is only invoked after the issue has been established.

This is a book which makes the reader think. Some chapters really leave the reader with the feeling of understanding something new. This book is not light reading. It requires the investment of serious intellectual energy. For the reader willing to make the investment, the rewards can be heavenly.

Thomas Aquinas was an extraordinarily systematic thinker and writer. Because of this, one of the best ways to comprehend "Summa Contra Gentiles" is through consideration of its structure. At the highest level, it consists of 4 books, with the third book in two parts, on account of its length.

The titles of the five volumes are as follows:

Summa Contra Gentiles: God

Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation

Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence, Part I

Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence, Part II*

Summa Contra Gentiles: Salvation

Each volume is formally divided into about 100 short chapters. A typical chapter gets its title from some proposition that is to be affirmed, or in some cases refuted. Each paragraph is an argument in support (or denial) of that proposition. The chapters are themselves ordered so that the later chapters build on what the arguments in the earlier chapters have established, and it is this arrangement of chapters that constitutes the real structure of "Summa Contra Gentiles".

Although in his later "Summa Theologica", Thomas formalized the higher-level structure of his writing, he did not do so here, which somewhat complicates any presentation of this structure - the book titles are so high level that they give little feel of the work, and the chapter titles so numerous that the reader is easily overwhelmed by a list of them.

In order to give the reader some sense of the overall work, I've prepared an outline of the work that (hopefully) is short enough to be readily comprehensible and long enough to give the reader an understanding of what topics are covered and in what order. This outline is presented below:

1.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: God

1.1 Intention of the Work (1 - 2)

1.2 Truths of Reason and Revelation (3 - 9)

1.3 That God Exists (10 - 13)

1.4 That God is Eternal (14 - 20)

1.5 God's Essence (21 - 28)

1.6 That God is Known (29 - 36)

1.7 That God is Good, One and Infinite (37 - 44)

1.8 God's Intellect and Knowledge (44 - 71)

1.9 God's Will (72 - 96)

1.10 God's Life and Beatitude (97 - 102)

2.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: Creation

2.1 Purpose of the Work (1 - 5)

2.2 That God is the Creator of All Things (6)

2.3 God's Power Over His Creation (7 - 29)

2.4 For and Against the Eternity of the World (30 - 38)

2.5 The Distinction of Things (39 - 45)

2.6 Intellectual Substances (46 - 55)

2.7 The Intellect, the Soul and the Body (57 - 78)

2.8 Immortality of Man's Soul (79 - 82)

2.9 Origin of Man's Soul (83 - 89)

2.10 On Non-human (Angelic) Intellects (90 - 101)

3.0 Summa Contra Gentiles: Providence (Parts I and II)

3.1 Prologue (1)

3.2 Good, Evil, and God as the End of All Things (2 - 25)

3.3 Human Felicity (26 - 63)

3.4 How God's Providence Works (64 - 94)

3.5 Prayer and Miracles, Magic and Demons (95 - 110)

3.6 Rational Creatures and Divine Law (111 - 130)

3.7 Voluntary Poverty and Continence (131 - 138)

3.9 Rewards and Punishments (139 - 147)

3.10 Sin, Grace, and Predestination (148 - 163)

4.0 Salvation

4.1 Forward (1)

4.2 The Trinity (2 - 16)

4.3 The Incarnation (27 - 55)

4.4 The Sacraments (56 - 78)

4.5 The Resurrection (79 - 97)

-

* in searching for Part II of "Providence" in Amazon's book catalog, be sure to search by the full title, or the search results may just return part I.

Depending on the reader's preparation, "Summa Contra Gentiles: God" is either completely impenetrable or one of the easier philosophical works to understand.

While it is ideal for the reader to have read Aristotle, particularly his "Physics" and "Metaphysics", less - even much less - will do. What is minimally necessary is an understanding of the vocabulary. Thomas used a number of terms that he acquired from Aristotle that had a particular technical meaning, a meaning that is different from the ordinary meaning of those same terms. Without a good grasp of these terms, the reader simply will not be able to follow Thomas's logic.

Fortunately, the list of important terms is not very large, nor are the meanings especially obscure. The purpose of this review is to list and define these terms. For examples, I will draw on the familiar story of "The Three Little Pigs":

Matter, material - what a thing is made of. The matter of the three little pigs' houses are straw, sticks, and bricks respectively. Contrast with "form".

Form, formal - how a thing is ordered or arranged. The form of all of the three little pigs' houses is the same: "house". Contrast with "matter".

Prime matter - the stuff out of which all physical objects are ultimately made. While the third little pig's house has the form of "house" and the matter of "bricks", "bricks" themselves have a form of "brick" and matter of "earth" (assuming they are earthen bricks), and "earth" itself has a form and matter, and so on. Eventually, this process must end with some matter that is not composed of anything more fundamental. This most fundamental matter is given the name "prime matter".

Substance, substantial - Ordinarily, matter and form together make a substance. The third little pig's house is a substance that combines the matter of "bricks" and the form "house". The possibility of substances which do not ultimately derive from prime matter is an important question (perhaps the important question) of Summa Contra Gentiles.

Sensible - that which is seen, heard, smelt, touched, or tasted. Sometimes this term is used to refer to the sensible qualities themselves (color, sound, etc.) and sometimes to the objects that have those qualities. The little pigs' houses can be seen, so those houses are sensible objects. Contrast with "intelligible".

Intelligible - that which is understood but not sensed. We understand "house", but we cannot see "house", although we can see the three little pig's individual houses. Contrast with "sensible".

Accident, accidental - the qualities of a thing that do not determine what it is. The matter of which the three little pigs' houses are made is accidental; whether a house is made of straw, sticks, or bricks, it is still a house. Contrast with "essence".

Essence, essential - the qualities of a thing that make it what it is. That the three little pigs' houses are places for them to live is essential to those houses; if they couldn't live in them, they wouldn't be houses. Contrast with "accidental".

Quiddity - see "essence".

Privation - a lack of a quality that would ordinarily be present. It would be a privation if the first little pig could not see, but it is not a privation that his house cannot see.

Act, actual - what a thing is at a particular time. After the first little pig builds his house (but before the wolf blows it down) it is a house in act. Contrast with "potency".

Potency, potential - what a thing could be, but is not. Before the first little pig builds his house, the straw of which it is to be made is a house in potency. Contrast with "act".

Motion - sometimes refers specifically to movement in space, at other times to any change in a thing.

Generation - the process of applying form to matter to make a substance. While the first little pig is building his house from straw, the house is in generation. Contrast with "corruption".

Corruption - the process by which matter loses its form and ceases to be a substance. While the wolf is blowing down the first little pig's house, the house is in corruption. Contrast with "generation".

Nature, natural - qualities of a thing or changes to a thing that arise from what it is. It was natural for the sticks of the second little pig's house to stay where he put them. Contrast with "violent".

Violent, violence - motion in a thing that is contrary to its nature. When the sticks in the second little pig's house were blown apart, that change was violent. Contrast with "nature".

Eternal, eternity - often used to mean not dependent on time; as distinct from an infinite amount of time. "House" is eternal but the pig's individual houses were not.

Cause - how a thing came to be. The efficient cause of the first little pig's house was his work in building it. While Aristotle defined four causes: material, efficient, formal, and final, Thomas almost always means the efficient cause when he refers to a thing's cause.

End - why a thing came to be. The final cause, or end, of the little pigs' houses were to give them shelter.

". . . it isn't often one gets the chance to be around when a man comes back from the dead" (From the Introduction).

This is Father Ciszek's odyssey from class bully to rough- hewn, intrepid minister inside and out of the best accommodations the Soviet Union had to offer for their political prisoners: the best KGB interrogators, the best watered-down soup, the best concrete bunks, the best mix of sociopathic criminals mixed in with the prisoners of conscience, the best conditions guaranteed to reduce the expense of maintaining an extensive number of prisoners who, however inadvertantly, irritated the authorities.

There are few spiritual insights--this isn't a letter from Saint Paul, nor Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn--but his experiences speak for themselves. Fr. Ciszek endured the rigors of intense interrogations followed by five years of imprisonment in cells, both isolated and crowded, within Moscow. He endured another ten years in worker camps inside the Arctic Circle.

In spite of the hardships, he managed to minister to a captive audience supplied by the Russian authorities. He heard confessions and said Mass with provisions supplied by the prisoners themselves, such as fermented raisins for sacramental wine, and a paten made of nickel.

There were some minor disappointments. He had his picture snapped at Lenin's tomb days before he was airlifted from the national prison Lenin founded. For all the suffering he endured out of love for the people of the Soviet Union, I overlooked his touristy affectation. Besides, he DOES offer a prayer for Lenin's soul: "He was a man, after all, . . . and he may be in need of more prayers than he's getting here."

Also, I would have appreciated a few pages relating how he readjusted to life back home.

This memoir should sit next to other prison crucibles, such as "The Gulag Archipilago by Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn, "When Hell Was In Session" by Jeremiah Denton and "Against All Hope" by Armando Valladares.

Born in Pennsylvania and growing up as a tough guy on the street, Father Ciszek surely blundered into one of the toughest ministries ever. He had the worst case of historical myopia this reviewer has ever seen, but such a trait may have been required to lead him to his prison ministry. He gets a fixed idea that he must minister in Russia. In seminary in Poland when the Russians overrun it, he decides on his own to enter Russia, obtaining reluctant approval at the last minute. When does he enter? You guessed it - after the Germans invade Russia. He picks a Polish pseudonym and heads for the front! Naturally, the NKVD arrests him for espionage, but after thorough investigation are totally stymied by the good father. They offer him a ministry at the front, but he turns it down, at a time when 40 million people are dying and the Russians are fighting for the right to exist at all. So, he goes to the camps. There he keeps the flicker of faith alive among the hopeless. Miraculously, at the end of his working ministry, he gets to be repatriated and retire in the U.S.

I read this book back in 1987 while a patient in a local Veteran's Hospital. A priest had stopped in to visit and offered it to me for something to pass the time. It was one of those books that once you started to read it, you couldn't put it down. I read the book in a week, and it really touched me as to the testament of a person's faith in a time of struggle. I regard it as an honor to of been afforded the opportunity to of been given this book to read in a time of need.