Share <Embed>

Buy New

$11.61

List Price: $18.99
Save: $7.38 (39%)

FREE Shipping on orders over $25—or get FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime

In Stock.

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Want it tomorrow, Sept. 8? Order within and choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details

Ship to:

Select a shipping address:

Buy Used

$9.99

+ $3.99 shipping

Used: Good | Details

Sold by HPB-Emerald

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Added to

Unable to add item to List. Please try again.

Other Sellers on Amazon

Add to Cart

$12.31
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: allnewbooks

Add to Cart

$12.32
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: ---SuperBookDeals

Add to Cart

$18.15
+ Free Shipping

Sold by: Book Depository US

Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization Paperback – September 18, 2012

by Thomas E. Woods (Author), Antonio Canizares (Introduction)

243 customer reviews

See all 8 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$17.56

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

$16.92

$13.12

$2.84

Paperback

"Please retry"

$11.61

$9.98

Audible, Unabridged

"Please retry"

$0.00

Free with your Audible trial

Audio CD, Audiobook, MP3 Audio

"Please retry"

$18.87

—

Ask someone today where Western Civilization originated, and he or she might say Greece or Rome. But what is the ultimate source of Western Civilization? Bestselling author and professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr. provides the long neglected answer: the Catholic Church. In the new paperback edition of his critically-acclaimed book, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, Woods goes far beyond the familiar tale of monks copying manuscripts and preserving the wisdom of classical antiquity. Gifts such as modern science, free-market economics, art, music, and the idea of human rights come from the Catholic Church, explains Woods. In How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, you’ll learn:

Why modern science was born in the Catholic Church
How Catholic priests developed the idea of free-market economics five hundred years before Adam Smith
How the Catholic Church invented the university
Why what you know about the Galileo affair is wrong
How Western law grew out of Church canon law
How the Church humanized the West by insisting on the sacredness of all human life

No institution has done more to shape Western civilization than the two-thousand-year-old Catholic Church—and in ways that many of us have forgotten or never known. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is essential reading for recovering this lost truth.

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

$11.61
FREE Shipping on orders over $25—or get FREE Two-Day Shipping with Amazon Prime In Stock. Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Frequently bought together

Total price: $49.68

One of these items ships sooner than the other. Show details

Buy the selected items together

This item:How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods Paperback $11.61
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium by James Hitchcock Hardcover $26.29
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping. Details
Seven Lies About Catholic History: Infamous Myths about the Church's Past and How to Answer Them by Diane Moczar Paperback $11.78
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.

James Hitchcock

145

Hardcover
$26.29
Diane Moczar

109

Paperback
$11.78
Thomas E. Woods Jr.

446

Paperback
$14.99
Scott Horton

14

Paperback
$17.99
Rodney Stark

198

Paperback
$15.29
H.W. Crocker III

195

Paperback
$16.83

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Engaging and engrossing.... A mine of information on the debt we owe to Catholic life and thought." -- Michael P. Foley, Ph.D., assistant professor of Patristics, Great Texts Program, Baylor University

"Puts the Church back where it should be: at the center of values, science, laws, and institutions of Western civilization." -- Dr. Paul Legutko, Stanford University

"Superb and scholarly.... Highly recommended." -- Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, professor emeritus, the City University of New York --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

From the Publisher

Ask a college student today what he knows about the Catholic Church and his answer might come down to one word: "corruption." But that one word should be "civilization." Western civilization has given us the miracles of modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of the rule of law, a unique sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, a philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts that we take for granted as the wealthiest and most powerful civilization in history. But what is the ultimate source of these gifts? Bestselling author and professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr. provides the long neglected answer: the Catholic Church. Woods’s story goes far beyond the familiar tale of monks copying manuscripts and preserving the wisdom of classical antiquity. In How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, you’ll learn: · Why modern science was born in the Catholic Church · How Catholic priests developed the idea of free-market economics five hundred years before Adam Smith · How the Catholic Church invented the university · Why what you know about the Galileo affair is wrong · How Western law grew out of Church canon law · How the Church humanized the West by insisting on the sacredness of all human life No institution has done more to shape Western civilization than the two-thousand-year-old Catholic Church—and in ways that many of us have forgotten or never known. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization is essential reading for recovering this lost truth. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product details

Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: Regnery History; Reprint edition (September 18, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1596983280
ISBN-13: 978-1596983281
Product Dimensions: 1 x 6.5 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 243 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,098 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #146 in Books > History > World > Civilization & Culture
- #210 in Books > History > World > Religious > Christianity
- #216 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Churches & Church Leadership > Church History

Would you like to tell us about a lower price?
If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?

NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE

Customer reviews

243

4.4 out of 5 stars

5 star		66%
4 star		19%
3 star		5%
2 star		3%
1 star		7%

Write a customer review

See all verified purchase reviews

Rated by customers interested in

What's this?

Business & Economics Books

2.7 out of 5 stars

Christian Books & Bibles

3.1 out of 5 stars

Politics & Government Books

3.3 out of 5 stars

Is this feature helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Top customer reviews

If you could choose only ONE history book this would be IT

ByM. C. Sickelson September 3, 2013

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

History without the spin doctoring
If you are looking for a great, truthful, entertaining book on history buy this one!

This is a well written, excellently researched volume on history that focuses on unique and indispensable contributions made to betterment of life on this world for everyone by the Church. It is a must-read for everyone who enjoys living in this country or who wants to make the USA their home and keep it a great place to live and work and pursue their dreams. It covers historical events from 300 A.D. into the new millennium. Easy to read, easy to understand, this book is written by PhD historian and professor Thomas E. Woods and comes with a large reference/bibliography included to show where the information in the book has come from. I would count any book by this author as most reputable and honest.

0Comment 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

what the secular world does not want you to know

ByNayloron February 28, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Fascinating account of how the Catholic Church built Western Civilisation. With roots in Ancient Greek civilisation, the Catholic Church first introduced the notion that all men are equal under God, introduced the legal rights of nation states and their peoples be they religious or not, sponsored breakthrough science, introduced universities to the world, gave the world some of the most beautiful works of art and architecture, inspired medical research, promoted philosophical debate and moved forward from ancient sages such as Socrates, pushed for the rights of women in society and becoming the greatest source of charity and financial support to poor people's throughout the world.

0Comment 8 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

I thoroughly enjoyed it, therefore I give it a 5

ByCarlos A. Zubillagaon March 4, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Most people are biased regarding the Catholic Church, whether pro or against. For many decades now most historians have been on the "against" side, and many myths and misunderstandings are preponderant about the Catholic Church and particularly regarding the Middle Ages, so called the Dark Ages. This book, although written by a Catholic, brings to bear many historical facts that provide a much more balanced view, not only about the Middle Ages but also about the role of the Catholic Church throughout its 2000 year history.

It is also well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it, therefore I give it a 5.

0Comment 3 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Very Enlightening

BySJ Rabbiton May 22, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

This book documents what every Catholic already feels--that God has worked through his Church for the good of His people. Is the church perfect? Oh, heck no. Is it the best thing man has ever created out of his desire to serve our Maker, our Messiah, and our fellow man? Oh, heck yeah.

0CommentWas this review helpful to you?YesNo

an essential work for any one who would understand the West

ByTom Ridenouron April 22, 2008

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Dr. Woods has written a book that has long been needed: one that tells the truth about the Church and the development of western culture over and against the lies, distortions and misrepresentations of to-day's anti-Catholic, anti-God visual and print media--not to mention the rabid hatred of the Church in much of academia.
The chapter on the Church and science will be particularly enlightening to those who have accepted, carte blanch, the often repeated modern mantra about the Church being anti-science--always using a distorted version of the Galileo controversy as the ONE example in 2000 years to "prove" the Churches' scientific backwardness and authoritarian posturing: nothing could be further from the truth. Such a view is not only wrong; it is the opposite of wrong.
Those anti-Catholics, both Protestant and secular, who dare to come to terms with the historical content and insights in Dr. Woods' book will find themselves with a new understanding and appreciation of the true roots and foundations of the moral, relational, scientific and metaphysical concepts they have previously taken for granted.
How many converts will the book influence? It's hard to say. But those who read it with even a remote sense of fair-mindedness are likely to lose much of the Catholic animus they may have previously harbored--and that, in itself, is a good thing.
Dr. Woods' book also has a virtue that Catholic homilists are encouraged to develop: transparency. It is very easy to understand. Difficult concepts and ideas are explained with a simplicity and clarity even a Fulton J. Sheen would have admired.
The text is extremely lucid and enjoyable to read.
An outstanding introduction to a great diversity of ideas and disciplines, Dr. Woods shows that virtually every thing we have and value in the West, with the possible exception of peanut butter, finds its origin in the past and its sustaining bulwark in the present in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church,.

11 comment 13 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Underpinning Western Civilization

ByDavid Salakoon June 15, 2008

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

A great and badly needed volume. Beautiful cover artwork.
I wish I could donate scores of this book to our high schools and colleges in the U.S. where the decidedly skewed Protestant and Atheist version of history is being taught. Basically little or nothing good existed before the frenzied cries of Sola Scriptura! in the 16th century using the Bible - a document assembled by the Catholic Church as the center piece of this new man made tradition.
One wonders how an institution so evil and corrupt could last almost 2000 years and be the largest and universally (catholic) dispersed Christian group on the planet? Luther, Calvin and company's spiritual children have been around for 500 years and look at how many denominations have formed from that mindset and those splits and yet more splits
Catholicism and it's echoes surround us every day in our legal system, architecture, agriculture, art, literature etc.
Somehow Mendel (the father of genetics) was left out of this volume but another great companion piece to this book is "Catholic Churchmen and Science" by James J. Walsh.
Thank you for the research and enlightenment.
We as Christians and a Church have typically taken the stance that we are called to be Christlike and transform the World with no publicity sought or given for most of what we do. The unfortunate reality is that we live in a World which deals out a great deal of "noise" and erroneous facts, so intelligent rebuttals like this are needed to educate those willing to seek out the fullness of Truth.

11 comment 7 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Most recent customer reviews

A Stupendous Survey of Roman Catholicism

Dr. Woods presents a compelling and objective evaluation of the guidance of Western thought and history by the people who were and are the Roman Catholic Church.Read more

Published 18 days ago by Joseph S.

Four Stars

I'm an atheist but this book is a real eye opener.

Published 1 month ago by Horace Hogsnort

Not worth the time

Repetitive litany of minimally connected facts.

Published 2 months ago by Douglas Guertin

Would recommend.

Very informative, I would highly recommend it.

Published 3 months ago by sean r.

More Catholic/Christian Lies

In this book we are told with how the Catholic church bettered society with it's great contributions.Read more

Published 3 months ago by Sorcerer Supreme

Four Stars

This was a gift and arrived in good condition....well received.

Published 4 months ago by MaryKay

... elements and historical chapters about how the church unfurled great human sanctifying upon our world

Powerful documentary of the elements and historical chapters about how
the church unfurled great human sanctifying upon our world.

Published 4 months ago by Jason Tabour

This book told history as I, and I am ...

This book told history as I, and I am sure many others, never learned it before. If more people read it and verified the parts they could, there would be much more respect for...Read more

Published 5 months ago by roberta

Five Stars

Phenomenal book.

Published 6 months ago by Greg

Five Stars

Excellent historical review

Published 7 months ago by Amazon Customer

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway

This item: How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

Set up a giveaway

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

History of the Catholic Church: From the Apostolic Age to the Third Millennium Hardcover

James Hitchcock

145

$26.29
The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History Paperback

Thomas E. Woods Jr.

446

$14.99
Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church Paperback

H.W. Crocker III

195

$16.83
Seven Lies About Catholic History: Infamous Myths about the Church's Past and How to Answer Them Paperback

Diane Moczar

109

$11.78

Pages with related products. See and discover other items: world civilization, roman history, the woods

Buy New $11.61

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

or

or

Buy Used $9.99

Turn on 1-Click ordering for this browser

Sorry, there was a problem.

Sorry, there was a problem.

Other Sellers on Amazon

How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization Paperback – September 18, 2012

Frequently bought together

Customers who bought this item also bought

Sponsored products related to this item (What's this?)

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the Publisher

Product details

Customer reviews

Top customer reviews

Most recent customer reviews

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

What other items do customers buy after viewing this item?

Buy New

$11.61

Buy Used

$9.99