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.

This is a rather interesting story, set in Biblical times (about 1200 B.C.) of a great battle led by the Hebrew Barak (at the time of Deborah) and told from the perspective of a young Hittite Warrior, Uriah - one of the enemy. The story gives the reader a real sense of the culture of the time - from the land of the Hittites, to Ancient Israel, to the major Canaanite cities of Tyre and Sidon (where the people fearfully sacrifice a child to the god Moloch in time of difficulty).

Catherine was born in the year 1347 of a wealthy family in Siena, Italy. These were troubled times in her native country. The pope was living in Avignon, France, and rival Italian cities and families were constantly at war with one another. The author gives presents a rather interesting story of a rather remarkable little girl who had heavenly visions and was a light of comfort and cheer to all those who came in contact with her. As Catherine grew older she live a very pious and austere life, offering great penances to Our Lord and working to help the poor and convert sinners.

This short, and fairly easy to read biography chronicles the life of Saint Athanasius (early 300s) - Patriarch/bishop of Alexandria and Doctor of the Church (and model of perserverance). Athanasius was a defender of the faith in a very critical time in the early Church's history. Even before the Edict of Milan which allowed Christians to practice their faith freely (at least for a time), the heresy of Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ, was beginning its attack on the Church.