World History High School

Christ the King Lord of History

Book cover: 'Christ the King Lord of History'
Author(s): 
Anne W. Carroll
Number of pages: 
474 pages
Copyright: 
1986
Publisher: 
TAN Books and Publishers
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
World History
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Resource Type: 
Text
Review: 
This very interesting and readable World History text covers the beginnings of History through the early reign of Pope John Paul II from a Catholic perspective. Old Testament History, the great ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome, the Life of Christ, the growth of the Church, the Great Heresies, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the "Reformation" and Counter-Reformation, the French Revolution, the Age of Napoleon, World War I, the Russian Revolution and World War II are all included in fascinating details. Essential events of World History are included in addition to tidbits of Catholic History that are hard to find elsewhere.

The Controversy: We're not supposed to "whitewash" the Catholic Church's role in History. The fact that there have been many bad Catholics and that bad things have been done in the name of the Catholic faith cannot be ignored. Anne Carroll seems to agree with this principle. Why the controversy then? According to Mrs. Carroll, many events that the Modern World believes should be blamed on Catholics are in fact Protestant myths, designed to make Catholics look bad, or other misrepresentations or misunderstandings of the facts. Some of her facts contradict other Catholic sources, such as the Catholic Encyclopedia, on such hot-button issues as the Spanish Inquisition. A number of Catholic homeschoolers find this very troubling. Some I've talked to have been so upset at their perception of a "whitewashing" of Catholic history that they are avoiding this text altogether. I disagree with this position because I believe that Mrs. Carroll genuinely believes that what she has written is true and that she is not attempting to hide the faults of the Church. I understand that some homeschoolers also prefer her husband, Warren Carroll's History of Christendom series, because it is highly annotated to support his claims and provide further reference.

I think it's important to understand that History is a very complex thing. For our understanding of History, we are always relying upon someone else's facts. Within the Catholic Church, there are many issues which are not agreed upon, and the Church doesn't say that you have to believe this or that side. I think this is a good concept for children (especially high schoolers) to understand. I would suggest having your children use this text, but discuss these important issues before you embark on your journey, and have them read materials from other Catholic sources as well.

Perspective: 
Catholic
Additional notes: 

Copyrights 1976/1986/1994

Reviewed by: 
Alicia Van Hecke
First reviewed: 
3-25-2000

Christ the King, Lord of History - Answer Key

Author(s): 
Rachel Szilagyi
Copyright: 
2002
ISBN: 
0971889503
Publisher: 
By Way of the Family Press
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
World History
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Resource Type: 
Text
Review: 
(for the textbook written by Anne Carroll and reviewed above)

Which busy homeschooling mother couldn't use some extra time in her day? I used to avoid purchasing answer keys and other helps, thinking that the money was better spent in other ways. As my family has grown and my children's work has become more time-consuming and difficult, I have found real value and genuine time savings in having a well-produced answer key. I'm still able to correct first grade math without a key, but not high school history!

This new book will be a wonderful blessing to families who use this popular textbook, and I can't imagine being without it now. I'm sure that we would all agree that it is very important to check a student's work as quickly as possible to give useful feedback. Because the textbook questions are primarily short-answer and not multiple-choice and true-false questions, this process can be very time-consuming. If you do as I do and get interested in what you are reading, it takes even longer!

This key is organized by chapter, making it immediately useful no matter where in the text your student happens to be working. The answers to the chapter-end questions are precise and detailed, giving the optimal response to the question rather than a simplified version that a student might hastily write. Quotations from the textbook itself are used liberally to support the answers given. Highly recommended!

Perspective: 
Catholic
Reviewed by: 
Susan Kalis
First reviewed: 
8-21-02

Light to the Nations

The Development of Christian Civilizations, Volume One
Author(s): 
Catholic Schools Textbook Project
Binding: 
Sewn Hardcover
Subject(s): 
World History
Grade / Age level: 
Grades 6-8
High School
Elementary
Resource Type: 
Text
Review: 
Most Catholic homeschoolers today are familiar with the high quality level of the Catholic Textbook Projects volumes, and this one, Light to the Nations is no exception. (Note that I write this review based on the CD format of the book). Attractive, user-friendly layout, beautiful reproductions and helpful maps are found throughout the chapters. Light to the Nations explores World History starting with the birth of Christ. So it is the history of our Christian, Western civilization. Volume One, the book in question, goes from the time of the Birth of Christ until the Enlightenment in the 18th century. Volume Two will pick up where this volume has left off, and from what I can assess on their website, it is in production. See more information at the publisher's website at http://www.catholictextbookproject.com/purchase/purchase-main.html What is different, and both extremely rewarding and delightful about this book, is the issue of trust. You know the feeling: you are studying History with your kids and when it comes to certain historical periods, you begin trembling, knowing all too well what's coming: attacks on the Church based most times on ignorance of History and Protestant slant. Not here! While this book doesn't have the usual Protestant or secular slant, it does not glorify the Church as a spotless, perfect human institution: She isn't. We know that, as mistakes have been made and apologies have been issued. Light to the Nations gives the Catholic student a balanced, cohesive, balanced account of the turbulent and wonder-ful times of the development and growth of Christendom in Europe. I led a small group of 8th and 9th graders this past school year (2008-2009) using The Catholic Textbook Project's Light to the Nations. We got together once a week for an afternoon and read aloud the chapter, stopping to discuss when necessary, and using Atlases many times to follow along paths of events. We read the summary at the end of the chapter and loved the interesting extra snippets about people and places of interest. Since the teacher's manual is not yet available, I had the students write different types of questions with answers for each chapter and many times we had fun quizzing each other.
Perspective: 
Catholic
Reviewed by: 
Ana Braga-Henebry
First reviewed: 
7-13-2009

Priestblock 25487

A Memoir of Dachau
Author(s): 
Jean Bernard
Translator(s): 
Deborah Lucas Schneider
Number of pages: 
177 pages
Publisher: 
Zaccheus Press
Binding: 
Softcover
Subject(s): 
Religion
Church History
World History
Setting: 
Europe
World War II
Life during World War II
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Adults
Review: 
Spellbinding! From its opening pages, I was absolutely riveted to Fr. Bernard’s incredible story of faith and courage. Already familiar with that hell on earth, I was hesitant to read Priestblock 25487, A Memoir of Dachau. I took the plunge and was richly rewarded. It was one of the most inspiring stories I have ever read. With deep humility and simple piety, Fr. Bernard’s tells his horrific story of living (if you can call it that) in Dachau from May 19, 1941 to August 5, 1942. During World War II, priests were regularly rounded up and sent to concentration camps, in particular Dachau. The Nazi regime did not want the priests to administer the sacraments or spiritually lift up those around them, so they isolated them from the other prisoners. Fr. Bernard was a priest from Luxembourg, who never knew why he was sent there. Throughout the story, two thoughts continually weave in and out. We witness man’s sadistic, cruelty to man and God’s transforming love though man. How is it possible for a starving man to offer up his meager ration of bread for his fellow prisoner? Out of love, he has placed the needs of the other person above his own. The profound love that these priests have for the Eucharist leaves the reader without doubt that the Eucharist is real, life sustaining, and transforming. I did not want to read this book, because I did not want to remind myself of man’s inhumanity to man. I would like to pretend that it did not exist, but that would be a lie. Even more importantly, even though the Third Reich no longer exists, Christian persecution continues to exist throughout the world today in many forms. Reading this book reminds me to not take my faith for granted, to sink my roots deeper, so that I may fly higher, and that I too, in my meager, humble way, may offer my sacrifices like those heroic men and priests, who suffered incredible barbarism, to the capital of grace for the greater glory and joy of our Heavenly Father.
Perspective: 
Catholic
Additional notes: 

I would recommend this book for every high school student!

Reviewed by: 
Elizabeth Yank
First reviewed: 
9-9-2008

The Monuments Men

Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Book Cover
Author(s): 
Robert M. Edsel
Number of pages: 
468 pages
Copyright: 
2009
Subject(s): 
Art Appreciation
World History
Setting: 
World War II - the War
Grade / Age level: 
High School
Resource Type: 
Book(s)
Review: 
"The Monuments Men" is an engaging and little known story about servicemen who specialized in trying to preserve the art and culture of Europe during World War II. Not only were they involved in trying to get the Allies to do as little damage as possible in fighting the war, but it became almost another front of the war with Hitler, who not only stole and hoarded unbelievable quantities of art (in order to create his own "Fuhrermuseum"), but also gave orders to destroy these hoards of art as the Allies made headway into Germany. It's a fascinating story to begin with. The author skillfully weaves together a number of particularly interesting (and informative) stories by focusing in particular on two very great works of art that were particularly coveted by Hitler - Michelangelo's "Bruges Madonna" and the "Ghent Altarpiece" by Jan Van Eyck. When the author started piecing together stories for this book, he had so much material that he ended up writing a separate book just for the stories about the Monuments Men that took place in Italy. The second volume, entitled "Saving Italy", was published in 2013. Our family has also seen the movie and very much enjoyed it. It is rated PG-13 for some strong language and is quite simplified in comparison with the book (which is not a bad thing with a book that contains many, many threads of stories), but also has a number of breathtakingly beautiful and profound aspects to it.
Reviewed by: 
Alicia Van Hecke
First reviewed: 
2-8-2014, updated 9-16-2016