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B o o k R e v i e w s
Rock of Pages
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This Rock
Volume 15, Number 10
 December 2004 
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It has been said that the electronic age would be the death of books. When you can read the local newspaper on your PDA or cuddle up at the corner Starbuck’s with the latest e-book on your laptop, who would want to deal with an object as bulky and obsolete as a book?
The answer, apparently, is an awful lot of people. Nationally, book sales continue to set records. The Christian Science Monitor reported that the American Association of Publishers claimed a 50 percent increase last year in the sale of religion books over the previous year ("Religious book sales show a miraculous rise," April 9, 2004). Even those who question that figure, said the Monitor, acknowledge that "the success of religious books continues to outpace the industry as a whole."
As Catholic publisher John Barger points out elsewhere in these pages, a new book is published every thirty seconds. People out there are buying books, and chances are that if you’re the type of intelligent and intellectually curious person who reads This Rock, you’re one of them.
What we have assembled here is a movable feast for book lovers: articles about the Catholic publishing business, from the niche-market successes of Sophia Institute Press and Roman Catholic Books to the brilliance of Belloc, interspersed with book reviews—a lot of them. We’ve taken an apologetic look at a slew of recent books to let you know what you should be reading and what not to waste your time on. And hey—just in time for the holidays.
No need to thank us. Just start reading.
Book Reviewers
Ann Applegarth (Finding God in the Movies) is the media reviewer for Catholic Parent magazine. She writes from Roswell, New Mexico.
Michelle Arnold (Architects of the Culture of Death, and Catholic Traditions: Treasures New and Old) is a staff apologist for Catholic Answers. She writes from Santee, California.
Robin Bernhoft (The Reformation: A History, and Faith of Our Fathers) is co-host of Welcome Home, a syndicated weekly Catholic TV and radio show. He writes from Everett, Washington.
Jay Dunlap (Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would) is the communications director for Regnum Christi of North America. He writes from South Bend, Indiana.
James Kidd (The Resurrection of Christ, and Clerical Celibacy: The Heritage) is the reviews editor for This Rock. He writes from La Mesa, California.
Mary Beth Kremski (Prove It! The Catholic Teen Bible) writes from Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, where she lives with her husband, Stan.
Kathryn Lively (All the Pope’s Men, and Amazing Grace for Mothers) is the author of Saints Preserve Us and the upcoming Pray for Us Sinners. She writes from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Mary Jane O’Brien (Theology of the Body for Beginners) is a marketing assistant at Catholic Answers. She writes from San Diego, California.
Mike Sullivan (The Catholic Revolution) is the editor of Lay Witness magazine, the bimonthly publication of Catholics United for the Faith.
Thomas Szyszkiewicz (Worthy Is the Lamb) is published frequently in several Catholic publications. He writes from Altura, Minnesota.
Jan Wakelin (The Courage to Be Catholic) is the manager of Catholic Answers’ Q&A department. She writes from Poway, California.
Kenneth D. Whitehead (The Birth of the Church: From Jesus to Constantine, A.D. 30–312, and Voices from the Council) is the author of several books on Catholic subjects. He writes from Falls Church, Virginia.
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