Rating: 
Summary: An Unlikely Triumph
Review: If you buy only one historical overview of the Roman Catholic Church, buy Triumph. The book has an easy style for such a weighty survey.
Crocker, a convert to the Catholic Church might have titled his book Unlikely Triumph. Whether intended or not, the book shows how the Roman Catholic Church has a miraculously solid record on faith and morals and a spectacularly flaky record in politics and statecraft. The Catholic Church is the living proof that Christ's kingdom is not of this world. Crocker's book is timely inasmuch as the present-day catholic hierarchy makes some of the same colossal errors when departing from the topic of faith and morals. For example, if you follow the editorials in the Vatican Newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, and the pronouncements of Vatican diplomats like Cardinals Martino and Etchegaray, you quickly see that the Vatican has chosen sides in the War on Terrorism and they've chosen the wrong side. They've chosen the terrorists, leaving even middle-of-the-road lay people scratching their heads.
Crocker's book helps put this awkward episode in context: the Princes of the Church have a habit of bungling statecraft. The Catholic Church manages to survive all its self-inflicted wounds and even thrives-an Unlikely Triumph.
Rating:
Summary: Don't judge it for what it is not.
Review: If you expect this to be an academic, critical history of the Catholic Church, then you need to read the title again. Crocker is not a professional historian, and he doesn't pretend to be. However, as a man's honest interpretation and commentary of true historical events, the book is excellent. This is history through the eyes of a faithful (i.e., orthodox) Catholic. If you like Hilaire Belloc, Christopher Dawson, and G.K. Chesterton, then you'll love this work. Crocker is clearly indebted to them for his understanding of the Church that has survived and stood firm against numerous heresies, from Arianism to Protestantism to Socialism. The book is worth the purchase just for the second half beginning with the Reformation. Like Belloc (and numerous others) before him, Crocker locates the rampant secularism of today within the principles of the Reformation -- such as in this memorable quote:
"The result [of sola scriptura], over time, was that in Protestant countries, theology was no longer 'the queen of sciences' but only one source of knowledge, subject to individual interpretation, and was separated from secular inquiry. Because secular inquiry was seen as objective it eventually gained overweening predominance and prestige over doctrinally subjective Protestant religious thought -- an intellectual development that has been the major factor in secularizing the Western world" (240).
That is perhaps the most important quote in the book, and something that every Catholic should understand -- most Catholics take the Church and its magisterium for granted. Crocker also gives due criticism to Eastern Orthodoxy. All in all, I much enjoyed this book. His analysis is often brilliant and worthy of the high praise by Ralph McInerny (Professor of Medieval Studies, University of Notre Dame) who called the book "Magnificent!" It should be on every Catholic's reading list, along with 'A History of Christianity' by well-noted historian, Paul Johnson, an Englishman and a Catholic.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book, why complain?.
Review: Ignore the protestants in this review that complain about this book being anti-protestant. Of course this book will have a negative look at protestantism, because there is little good to be said them. What was so great about the reform? Did you expect the author to sound all excited like it was a great thing? Of course not!. Therefore, you will have protestants reviewing this book feeling negative like there 30,000 denominations are not justifiable to scripture. (Hence, do you believe our Lord wanted 30,000 denominations separated among themselves with different beliefs?).
This is a good book, but it is not for the weak or those looking for something to get upset about.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book
Review: The Gates of Hell will not prevail against the Catholic Church. God himself spoke those words. I would advise the enemies of the Church to heed those wise words. If Satan and his demons cannot destroy the Church, im pretty sure mere humans will not. God Bless Mr. Crocker, it is time a book like this has been written for the lay faithful.
Rating:
Summary: And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it....
Review: This book is expertly written and covers an indepth history of the Catholic Church and its tremendous influence on shaping the world throughout time. When you read reviews like the one below, "It astounds me as a member of the scholarly community...", you just know in your heart this book is worth buying. Whenever a pseudo-intellectual gets their feathers in a tussle it must mean the real truth is being told. They just don't want you to hear it. You see, people like this really believe they are smarter than us "blue-collar" folk and they'll make sure they let us know what's right and what's wrong for our own good. The title alone says it all, "An Orthodox Theologian (MTh) student of the late Dr. J.S. Romanides, Harvard and U. of Athens professor". Is this really suppose to mean anything to the rest of us outside academia? Can't you just feel the pomposity oozing from this stuff-shirt. Close your eyes and you can even picture them sipping tea and eating crumpets in a stuffy office surrounded by other blue-blood professors having a jolly old laugh at the expense of us commoners. Please buy the book and see for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Gotta love it
Review: To all the Catholic bashers, haters, and bigots who convinced themselves that the Catholic Church was all washed up:...WE'RE BACK!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome read, if you're Catholic.
Review: Triumph is a history of the Catholic church written from an unabashedly Catholic perspective. As a religious Catholic, I loved it. I do not, however, recommend it to non-Catholics, as the author tends to make criticisms of other faith traditions that non-Catholics might find abrasive.
Rating: 
Summary: A great disappointment
Review: Triumph was excessively opinionated and poluted by its overuse of emotionally charged adjectives. It read like a campaign speech. Its liberal use of undefined French phrases was an annoying distraction.
The lack of respect shown for members of other faiths was unkind and out of place in an era of ecumenism.
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