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One Hundred Great Catholic Books
From the Early Centuries to the Present
By Don Brophy
BlueBridge, 2007. 205 pages.
Reviewed by Michael Wilt
 I admit that I have a penchant for handy-dandy reference books—lists of this, that, and the other thing—that aim to assist people through the ins and outs of various aspects of life, whether sports or science or art or mythology or religion and so on. Conversely, I sometimes feel that such books distract me from the actual encounter with the object under discussion. I mean, why read a compendium of Shakespeare’s language when I haven’t managed yet to read all of his plays? Why study a star chart if I have no plans to go outside on a cold night and stand under the stars?
Be that as it may, books such as Don Brophy’s guide to great Catholic books have a place on the bookshelves of readers who are serious about their reading and/or their Catholicism. Stretching back in time, Brophy offers good reasons to read the Desert Fathers, Augustine, and Benedict. Coming closer to the present, he recommends Annie Dillard, Elizabeth Johnson, and Andre Dubus. These are just a few of the names to be found in his listing that consists of both surprises and usual suspects.
Brophy writes, “To be in this volume a book has to be of interest to general readers,” and his choices live up to this criterion. There is nothing too technical, no high-end theology geared to specialists and professionals. Everything Brophy names—fiction, memoir, biography, essay—is within the potential grasp of the person in the pew. Readers will inevitably find themselves introduced to something new, while at the same time annoyed that Brophy left out something that another might have selected. Such is the nature of a reference book, but Brophy also compels the reader to get out the library or bookstore to get straight to the source. And that’s a good enough reason to have a copy of this book near to hand.
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