Rating: 
Summary: concise? you bet. witty? why not
Review: this is the first book that i've read on apologetics. The arguments are mainly philosophical in nature (with the exception of the deity and resurrection of Jesus) and for the uninitiated (ie. people who only read Stephen King or Janette Oke)it may seem somewhat ponderous. However, if you stick with it you'll find the experience a most gratifying one. I'd always wondered why Christians believed what they believed. The answer I always got was "because the Bible says so". I would respond, "How do you know the Bible is true?". With a straight face they would respond, circularly, "because the Bible says so." And so it went. It's unfortunate that most people don't bother to look at whether their religious belief is actually true or not. So what if it makes you feel good? Puppies make me feel good but I'm not going to put my faith in them. HBOCA makes a very convincing and compelling case for the authenticity of the Christian faith. I'd highly recommend it to anyone seeking answers to the big questions of life.
Rating:
Summary: The best all-in-one book I've seen
Review: This book not only covers alot of ground, but it gives solid, logical, (and often nice and short) answers to questions often taken for granted. My two favorites are: why we call God "he", and the two different ways "faith" is used in the Bible as the source of the main misunderstanding between Catholics and Protestants - unbelievable! 500 years of fighting, and Kreeft and Tacelli nail the problem right on the head. The entire book is worth just this piece, but the whole book is full of priceless arguments for God and Christianity. Some feel that the answers may be too short, but I find this rarely to be the case. More often than not the answers are right on target. I've seen hundreds of books on apologetics (and read dozens). This is far and away the single best one of them all.
Rating:
Summary: A Copious Outline
Review: Here it is, all in one place -- a logical defense of the Christian faith, from the existence of God to the resurrection of Jesus. Having long since thrown up my hands in despair of ever finding a clear, compelling, and intellectually respectable apology for the faith as a whole, I found this book a pleasant surprise. Potential purchasers should be aware that the book is not exhaustive (a task which would require tens of thousands of pages); rather, it is systematic and comprehensive. Topics and arguments are discussed in sufficient detail to be persuasive (this from a former atheist who once criticized theism and Christianity mercilessly on logical grounds), but the reader is referred to other books and authors (e.g., Aquinas, Pascal, Lewis, Kierkegaard, as well as up-to-the minute Christian scholars and apologists) for full treatments of all points and subpoints. In that way, the book functions as a finely detailed road map. An excellent buy both for Christians interested in firming up their faith, and for atheists or non-Christian theists who might wish to be challenged to acknowledge Christ as Lord.
Rating:
Summary: A good summary of the basic arguments for Christianity.
Review: This book gives a good general overview of all the crucial arguments for Christianity. While the arguments are not exhaustive they are enough to equip any Christian with the ability to defend Christianity.
Rating: 
Summary: It Accomplishes Its Goals, But...
Review: Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli clearly state in the opening chapter that their book is in the tradition of a "summa," or summary, of the major topics associated with Christian apologetics and offering a defense for arguments against Christianity. Theirs is a handbook, a catalog of sorts which files things under neat subject headings, gives brief explanations, and then moves on to another subject. The authors do so with wit and understanding, but I felt that because the book is more of a catalog than an advanced argument for any specific tenant of the faith, it is inherently limited in its approach. At points the authors seem to give a mere cursory glance to subjects that obviously are too complex for this sort of genre, and in some cases, are better left out, for the sake of confusing those less philosophical - i.e., the section on Objective Truth, skepticism and subjectivism. Many times I also got the impression that the authors were convincing themselves more than they were their potential audience -which by the way is college students and the average layperson. That's not to say there isn't value to studying this text - it has an enormous task - arguing for the existence of God, heaven, hell, and the whole nine yards of apologetics. It's a decent primer for the average Joe, and it avoids overly sophisticated terminology or philosophical mumbo-jumbo - but most Christians with any knowledge of the key issues will find it too cursory in too many instances to shed any real light for them...
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Defense of the Faith
Review: Peter Kreeft does a masterful job with Ronald Tacelli in writing this book. I am very impressed by it. I have personally given this book to friends as it has been so helpful to me. It very clearly and concisely explains many various proofs for Christianity -- I strongly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent defense of christianity
Review: This is the best book on christian apologetics yet written. While most books on apologetics look at one side of the issue, this book presents and examines the skeptical side and clearly refutes it. The authors make a very persuasive case for christianity. This book does not represent a sectarian apologetics, but a general apologetics of christianity. Brilliant analysis and defense on the existance of God, the person of Christ, the Bible, and other religious topics. The authors clearly and persuasively show that other religions do tell the truth for the most part, but that Christianity is for good reason, the best of all religions. They also write that one should seek truth, wherever one can find it. All of this and more is what makes this book a classic in apologetics. Even a light reading of this book, refutes the objections against Christianity. It shows how full of holes and contradictions the skeptical arguments against Christianity are. A brilliant book.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent apologetics resource
Review: This book's title reflects its contents very well: it is a handbook encompassing scores of theistic proofs and positive arguments for the truth of Christianity. By necessity, the development of each topic is brief, however, the authors provide excellent annotated references for readers who want to dig deeper.
For people new to apologetics, this is perhaps one of the best places to start.
--David A. Frenz
Rating: 
Summary: prof kreeft, please do something else!
Review: Having read this book, I kept asking myself why Peter Kreeft presumes to answer "hundreds" of questions about Christianity in such a glib and complacent way. Why does he not take into account the objections of the most important atheists of the 20th Century? (I hope he knows who they are.) And why does he continue to prey on people who have never heard a fair statement of the arguments of the other side? No major publisher would publish a book like this.
Rating:
Summary: Garbage Can Material
Review: You have to be in the tiny range of Protestants and Vatican II Catholics, who love the present Vatican movement to merge Catholics and Lutherans as one religion, to buy any basic premise in this book. It will not teach you one valid thing that you can use to "christianize" anyone, and it can only serve as an emotional warm fuzzy if you fit the stated reader profile. You will not come away with any useful "argument," but you could in a self delusion find yourself with your "arguments" pitted against others, such as well educated fundamental Christians and Traditional Catholics who have daggers five inches long.
Buyer Beware. I threw my copy in the trash can.
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