The American Catholic Almanac - Burch & Stimpson

The American Catholic Almanac
 A Daily Reader of Patriots, Saints, Rogues, and Ordinary People Who Changed the United States
by Brian Burch and Emily Stimpson

Synopsis

WHAT DO BUFFALO BILL , JOHN F. KENNEDY, VINCE LOMBARDI , DOROTHY DAY, FULTON SHEEN, AND ANDY WARHOL HAVE IN COMMON? 
They’re all Catholics who have shaped America. In this page-a-day history, 365 inspiring stories celebrate the historic contributions of American men and women shaped by their Catholic faith. From famous figures to lesser-known saints and sinners, The American Catholic Almanac tells the fascinating, funny, uplifting, and unlikely tales of Catholics’ influence on American history, culture, and politics. Spanning the scope of the Revolutionary War to Notre Dame football, this unique collection of stories highlights the transformative role of the Catholic Church in American public life over the last 400 years.

Did you know…
• The first immigrant to arrive in America via Ellis Island was a 15-year-old Irish Catholic girl?
• Al Capone’s tombstone reads “MY JESUS MERCY”?
• Andrew Jackson credited America’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans to the prayers of the Virgin Mary and the Ursuline Sisters?
• Five Franciscans died in sixteenth-century Georgia defending the Church’s teachings on marriage?
• Jack Kerouac died wanting to be known as a Catholic and not only as a beat poet?
• Catholic missionaries lived in Virginia 36 years before the English settled Jamestown?

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This is a really easy, fun, interesting daily reader.  Each entry is just a page in length. Each day, you get to read a nice short, entertaining story.  I personally want to know more about a lot of the folks in the book and will eventually read more on them.  But I like that I get just a small tidbit about so many people.

For some folks, this may be the perfect amount of information on the individuals in the book.  For others, it may be too short.  For me (and hopefully a lot of you), it's a nice introduction and gives me great ideas for future reading projects.



I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Anything That Moves- Dana Goodyear

I read this book for my awesome book club, The Kitchen Reader, which combines two of my favorite things - reading and food.

This is such a fun, crazy book!  It is filled with wild tales of people eating everything and anything you can possibly imagine.  One of my favorites is in the very beginning of the book.  It's about a Mayan Apocalypse party that was thrown in LA.  Several courses, with beer pairings, and the kicker was that you had to taste before you found out what you were eating.  More than sixty people showed up for this dinner (if I were in the area, I would have definitely been there) and what an experience they had!  I won't spoil it for you but you should definitely check out this book.  Fun for anyone who loves food!

Jesus of Nazareth - Pope Benedict XVI

Description:  In this bold, momentous work, Joseph Ratzinger--in his first book written since he became Pope--seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent "popular" depictions and to restore Jesus' true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and invites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith.  From Jesus of Nazareth: "the great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: What did Jesus actually bring, if not world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought?  The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who formerly unveiled his countenance gradually first to Abraham, then to Moses and the Prophets, and then in the Wisdom Literature--the God who revealed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth.  He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love."

This book covers so many topics:
Ch 1 Baptism of Jesus
Ch 2 Temptation of Jesus
Ch 3 Gospel of the Kingdom of God
Ch 4 Sermon on the Mount
Ch 5 The Lords Prayer
Ch 6 The Disciples
Ch 7 Message of the Parables
Ch 8 Principal Images of John's Gospel
Ch 9 Peter's Confession and the Transfiguration
Ch 10 Jesus Declares His Identity

This is the first book written by Pope Benedict XVI (as Pope).  It was written back in 2007.  I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get to it, but please don't wait as long as I did to pick this up!  At 365 pages, this book isn't difficult or too long to read.  It is filled with great insight and can help you deepen your love, learn to love, or rediscover your love for Jesus.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

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Thomas Jefferson's Creme Brûlée - Thomas Craughwell

Thomas Jefferson's Creme Brûlée: How a Founding Father and his slave James Hemings introduced French cuisine to America

Amazon description:  This culinary biography recounts the 1784 deal that Thomas Jefferson struck with his slaves, James Hemings. The founding father was traveling to Paris and wanted to bring James along “for a particular purpose”— to master the art of French cooking. In exchange for James’s cooperation, Jefferson would grant his freedom. 
 


Thus began one of the strangest partnerships in United States history. As Hemings apprenticed under master French chefs, Jefferson studied the cultivation of French crops (especially grapes for winemaking) so the might be replicated in American agriculture. The two men returned home with such marvels as pasta, French fries, Champagne, macaroni and cheese, crème brûlée, and a host of other treats. This narrative history tells the story of their remarkable adventure—and even includes a few of their favorite recipes!

I read this book as part of my book club - Kitchen Reader and I am SO glad that I did!  I really love this book.  It combines history and food - two of my favorite subjects!

This book is not just about food or just about history.  Instead it does a lovely job of combining the two into a very readable, enjoyable book.  I do think the subtitle could be misleading to some though, because while James is definitely IN the story, he is not the main character.

As someone who has to pack up and move frequently, I loved learning what he carried home when he left Paris, after living there for five years:
86 crates with kitchen utensils and equipment
wines, cheeses, olive oils, Maille mustard
seedlings of fruit trees and ornamental trees

Can I just say I LOVE his style!

I truly loved this book.  I think it would make a great gift for foodies with a love for history.  Or  maybe historians with a love of food?

Just read it already!

Angels and Saints - Scott Hahn

This is such a great book!  I love that it is an easy, quick book to read but filled with a lot of information on angels and saints.

The book is in two parts.  The first part is more of an overview and the second part is on specific saints/angels.

I love how at the end of each chapter, he includes a short piece of writing from the saint being discussed.  I also really love the cover of the book.

I think this book is a great book for anyone wanting to learn more about the saints and angels (mostly saints though).  I will warn that each chapter on the saints/angels are only 4-8 pages long, so if you want a more in depth study, you should probably look for a different book.

The saints and angels included in the book -
St Michael and the Angels
Holy Moses
St Paul
St Ignatius of Antioch
St Irenaeus of Lyons
St Jerome
St Monica
St Thomas Aquinas
St Therese of Lisieux
St Maximilian Koble

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

More Info
Author Bio

Afro-vegan by Bryant Terry

First of all, what a beautiful book!  It is jam-packed with pictures of gorgeous recipes and ingredients.

When I was looking through cookbooks and found this one, I knew I had to have it.  It covers Africa (my current home), Brazil (my previous home), the Caribbean (never lived there but have visited it a few times), the South (my origins) and food (my passion)!!  Yes, this book was calling my name.

The author describes his book best so take a look at what he says -"Imagine if you removed the animal products from African, Caribbean, Southern, and other Afro-influence cuisines then meticulously cut, pasted, and removes the food to produce recipes with farm-fresh ingredients as their heart and soul: that is Afro-Vegan." Doesn't that make you want to run out and get a copy of this book NOW??!!

Recipes
Over a hundred recipes in the book and they all look absolutely amazing.  First few on my list to try are creole-spiced plantain chips, za'atar, harissa, blackened cauliflower with plum tomato sauce, slow-braised mustard greens, savory grits with slow-cooked collard greens, and maple-glazed banana johnnycakes.  Really, I want to make everything. Right. Now.

Stories
There are stories woven in to each chapter and recipe that really make this book special.  It is so much more than a cookbook.

Music and books
As much as I love the recipes, I think the music and book recommendations for each recipe is my favorite part of the book.  What a great idea!

So really, go pick this book up now.  You'll be glad you did!

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Catholicism- Robert Barron

About the book-
“What I propose to do in this book is to take you on a guided exploration of the Catholic world, but not in the manner of a docent, for I am not interested in showing you the artifacts of Catholicism as though they were dusty objets d’art in a museum of culture.  I want to function rather as a mystagogue, conducting you ever deeper into the mystery of the incarnation in the hopes that you might be transformed by its power.” –Father Robert Barron

What is Catholicism? A 2,000 living tradition? A worldview? A way of life? A relationship? A mystery? In Catholicism Father Robert Barron examines all these questions and more, seeking to capture the body, heart and mind of the Catholic faith.

Starting from the essential foundation of Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, and teaching, Father Barron moves through the defining elements of Catholicism – from sacraments, worship, and prayer, to Mary, the Apostles, and Saints, to grace, salvation, heaven, and hell – using his distinct and dynamic grasp of art, literature, architecture, personal stories, Scripture, theology, philosophy, and history to present the Church to the world. 

Paired with his documentary film series of the same title, Catholicism is an intimate journey, capturing “The Catholic Thing” in all its depth and beauty. Eclectic, unique, and inspiring, Father Barron brings the faith to life for a new generation, in a style that is both faithful to timeless truths, while simultaneously speaking in the language of contemporary life.

Includes over 100 black and white and color photos.

Based off his new series, Fr Robert Barron's new book Catholicism is very comprehensive and informative.

Chapters include:
The Revelation of God become Man
The Teachings of Jesus
The Ineffable Mystery of God
Mary, the Mother of God
Peter, Paul, and the Missionary Adventures
The Mystical Union of Christ and the Church
The Mystery of the Church's Sacrements and Worship
The Communion of Saints
Prayer and the Life of the Spirit
Last Things

He has such a way with words that really brings things to life.  I love this line "Catholicism is a matter of the body and senses as much as it is a matter of the mind and soul, precisely because the Word became flesh."

I love when he talks about a painting in pointillism style and compares God to the artist.  When viewed up close (by us) it just looks like a bunch of dots and doesn't make sense.  But when you see it from Gods view, the entire painting (His plans) becomes clear.  Fr Barron has such a great way of describing things.

It's a great book on Catholicism.  I recommend it for anyone that wants to learn more about the beautiful faith.

Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.