A Concise History of the Catholic Church [Hardcover]

Thomas Bokenkotter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 2004

A Concise History of the Catholic Church, first published by Image Books in 1979, has been one of the bestselling religious histories of the past two decades. Long a mainstay for scholars, students, and others looking for a definitive, accessible history of Catholicism, it has now been meticulously expanded and updated for the new millennium. With a clarity and conciseness that will appeal to the general reader, Thomas Bokenkotter divides his study into five parts that correspond to the major historical and epochal developments in Catholicism. His authoritative, thorough approach takes readers from the Church’s triumph over paganism, through “the sound and fury of renewal,” to a new section devoted to such topics as dissent, current developments in the ecumenical movement, and liberation theology. Informative illustrations throughout the book, new to this edition, enrich the reader’s experience, and the addition of a wide-ranging bibliography increases its value as a sourcebook.
A reviewer called the previous edition of A Concise History of the Catholic Church “a tract for the times, an attempt to help bewildered Roman Catholics and others get some sense of the origins of all the change that has streamed through the windows by Vatican II.” This new edition reaffirms its importance in the library of ecumenical studies and confirms its place among the classics.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This critically acclaimed history covers the events and doctrines that have shaped Catholic thought and action over the past two millennia. A singularly useful reference book, updated and expanded for the student of the 1990's. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

A Concise History of the Catholic Church, first published by Image Books in 1979, has been one of the bestselling religious histories of the past two decades. Long a mainstay for scholars, students, and others looking for a definitive, accessible history of Catholicism, it has now been meticulously expanded and updated for the new millennium. With a clarity and conciseness that will appeal to the general reader, Thomas Bokenkotter divides his study into five parts that correspond to the major historical and epochal developments in Catholicism. His authoritative, thorough approach takes readers from the Church?s triumph over paganism, through ?the sound and fury of renewal,? to a new section devoted to such topics as dissent, current developments in the ecumenical movement, and liberation theology. Informative illustrations throughout the book, new to this edition, enrich the reader?s experience, and the addition of a wide-ranging bibliography increases its value as a sourcebook.
A reviewer called the previous edition of A Concise History of the Catholic Church ?a tract for the times, an attempt to help bewildered Roman Catholics and others get some sense of the origins of all the change that has streamed through the windows by Vatican II.? This new edition reaffirms its importance in the library of ecumenical studies and confirms its place among the classics.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 624 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; Rev Exp edition (January 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385505841
• ISBN-13: 978-0385505840
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #917,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 150 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Needs more history and less editorializing, April 1, 2004

By 

Thomas Paul (Plainview, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Concise History of the Catholic Church (Hardcover)

This book is an interesting although deeply flawed look at Church history over the past 2,000 years. It is less a history than a collection of moments in time without a true feel for the flow of events. In addition, many prominent events are simply ignored or passed over with barely a mention. Let me give a few brief examples. Little is said of the collapse of the Church in North Africa where it was thriving (Saint Augustine was a bishop in Hippo) until it was replaced by Islam. The Crusades are barely discussed and their effects on relations with the peoples of the Middle East aren't discussed at all. The Thirty Years War is given a single paragraph. This is surprising because this war turned Europe from a continent of nations based on religion into a continent of nations where national loyalties were more important than religious loyalties. The loss of power of the religious leaders in Europe can be traced to that war.

This is fairly typical of the book. It discusses many prominent people such as Saint Augustine and Saint Jerome in some detail but fails to put their lives into a perspective of overall Church history. The flow of the book is often interrupted by jumps ahead and then back again so sometimes it is confusing because it isn't clear as to what events have occurred and which are still to come. There is also a tendency in the book to move too fast at times and introduce characters with a sentence and then never mention them again.

All that being said, the book is not a complete failure. Taken from a Catholic viewpoint, the book is an acceptable, although incomplete, introduction to Church history. The author does not try to hide the bad acts of the Church that led to the Reformation, for example, and instead points out the critical failures of the Church. His discussion of some key Protestant leaders such as Luther and Calvin will enlighten those who knew little of their lives. In fact, the book is at its best when the author ignores trying to write a history and instead gives us short biographies of key figures in Church history.

The last part of the book covering the period since Vatican II was the most disappointing to me. The author abandons any attempt to write a history and instead turns the book into an editorial about the Church's failure to become "modern" in the last 40 years. Strangely, this is the longest part of the book. I'm not sure how a book claiming to be a history can discuss 1,960 years of Church history in 400 pages and then the remaining 40 years are given more than 100 pages. Overall, the book is fair as an introduction to Church history until about 1900 but a failure as an editorial on the current Church.

72 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Liberal View of Catholic History, April 14, 2001

By 

BlackCoffee (Saint Mary's City, MD USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Concise History of the Catholic Church, Revised and Expanded Edition (Paperback)

I found this book both comprehensive and informative. The author traces the history of the Catholic Church by following the papal progression from Peter to the John Paul. As with most historical texts, the concentration is on recent history with the first 1000 years providing a foundation for these events, but not extensively explored.

I liked this book because it expanded my knowledge and provided a well-developed review of liberalism in the Catholic Church. However, this book is not without the author's influence. He appears to feel redeemed with the changes set forth in Vatican II as validation of the liberalist approach to the Church. He also appears unhappy with the limits that John Paul has attempted to put on those revisions. He promotes a Catholic Church run by a democratic process similar to government. This perspective becomes clear at the end and, in reading the book, it was apparent that the author was not completely unbiased in his presentation of history. Throughout this presentation, there seemed to be a lack of faith in God as the creator. This was not disrespectful, but more agnostic in nature.

This being said, I would highly recommend the book for anyone interested in learning the history of the Catholic Church. Its attractiveness to non-Catholics will be its independent scholarly presentation of history. The faithful however, will notice a mild shortcoming as it promotes a move away from papal authority towards a Church more of man than of God.

39 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A must read for any Catholic, history buff, or both., January 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: A Concise History of the Catholic Church, Revised and Expanded Edition (Paperback)

The Roman Catholic Church is the single most significant institution in history. Bokenkotter colorfully portrays the triumphs, tragedies and personalities that have guided the Church over the past two millinia in a brief, easy to read format. This book will not make anyone an expert on Catholic Church history, nor is it designed to do so. It will enhance anyone's knowledge of the most significant developments in history.

Who first wrote the Bible? What made Gregory so great? What is a "Renaissance Pope?" Did Martin Luther really nail his thesis to the door of the Cathedral? How did Catholicism spread through America? What prompted the Vatican II reform movement?

This book provides the basics, and it provides them clearly and cogently. To write a concise history about the Catholic Church is no small task. Bokenkotter did it, and he did it soundly.