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Summary: Triumph is a triumph
Review: 2000 years of history condensed into less than 500 pages and told in a page-turner manner. The bias in this book is clearly pro-Catholic, but the history, in itself, is compelling and speaks for itself. Finally, a piece of well-referenced material covering the papacy and Catholicism from its foundation in Jesus Christ and culminating in the present age. This book is a must for anyone wanting a concise history of the Catholic Church!
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Summary: Something for the Chesterbelloc fans
Review: If you need a good Catholic history in one volume, nothing compares. Having written a smashing novel (The Old Limey) and a terrific book for the aspiring business leader (Robert E. Lee on Leadership), Crocker clearly demonstrates his intellectual dexterity by taking on religion and history.One reader in these pages finds fault for alleged misrepresentations about predestination and Luther. But when you consider the reality (predestination was mentioned in St. Augustine but aggressively promoted by the Protestants, and Luther's revolution led to rampant persecution and murder of Catholics in an atttempt to change the culture of Western civilization), the fact are clearly on Crocker's side. Let's also not forget that the book does find time to criticize the Church. But, as someone once said more eloquently than I, those who hate the Catholic Church don't hate the Church for what it is -- they hate it for what they think it is. Crocker's book shows that he is not a one-niche writer, and I'm looking forward to his next volume.
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Summary: Finally, something good about the Church
Review: As a convert from Lutheranism, I found the book most enjoyable and an eye-opener into the Catholic view of the Reformation. The text was easy to read and understand and the humor was appreciated. While the Church's leaders have never been perfect, they weren't as bad as I was led to believe during my Protestant upbringing. Finally something uplifting about The True Faith.
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Summary: Balm for the Catholic Soul
Review: In these days of great difficulty for the Roman Catholic Church, Crocker's book is a ringing affirmation of Christ's promise of indefectibility. Although the book is not written as straight history, it nonetheless highlights the challenges that Catholicism has faced in its storied history. Countless times the obituary of the church has been written, and each time the Church has triumphed. Crocker's book is a balm for the Catholic soul and a must read for all.
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Summary: An outstanding historical survey.
Review: The Catholic Church has received much abuse and criticism in modern times: Triumph: The Power And The Glory Of The Catholic Church, A 2000-year History examines its history and contributions to the world, telling of kings, priests and popes who fought for the faith and helped make it the largest religion in the world. From controversies to crusades, Triumph provides an outstanding survey.
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Summary: Useful but slanted
Review: As a committed Catholic I looked forward to reading this book and it was initially all I hoped for, telling the tale of the history of the Bride of Christ in riveting detail. The author's desire to stuff his own political predilictions into the text, however, drive it off the rails as one reaches modern times. Just an example: The Civil War is identified as the War Between the States. The description of the Church's reaction to slavery in the South seems to suggest that slavery wasn't such a bad thing, after all. My suggestion: stop reading it once the 19th Century arrives.
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Summary: Inspiring and long-overdue praise for the Church
Review: Crocker has delivered a witty, insightful, gloriously honest account of Roman Catholicism's history in his TRIUMPH. Like many faithful to Rome, I had become disgusted with the latest wave of anti-Catholic literature recently published, such as CONSTANTINE'S SWORD and PAPAL SIN. In TRIUMPH, Crocker has furnished Catholic and non-Catholic alike with an accurate account of Church history which, while admitting the eccelesiatical history of Rome is not without stain, remains a joyous, uninhibited procession through over two millennia of the One True Faith. Kudos, Mr. Crocker, and ad multos annos!
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Summary: The Companion Text For Catholicism
Review: It has been said that of the millions of people who hate Catholicism, only a handful do so for its genuine doctrine. H.W. Crocker III, in Triumph: The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church, a 2000-Year History, will go a very long way toward ending pervasive ignorance of the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Seemingly in the Jesuit tradition, Crocker educates the mass lay public to end misrepresentations and misconceptions of the Faith. Triumph chronicles Catholicism from its earliest establishment in the Roman Empire to the current Vicar of Christ, John Paul II. Unbelievably, the beautiful tapestry of Catholicism's historical context had not been woven in its' entirety until this dynamic text. Crocker's intelligently lucid writing style is seductive to even the most time-conscious reader. Triumph articulates the paramount occasions in religions' foundation and delightfully delves into the religious and secular relations between Popes and national leaders, the "conveniently" omitted facts behind the Protestant Reformation, and unabashedly (and truthfully) addresses the controversial topics of the inquisition, indulgences, and the pontificate of Pius XII. Triumph is a wonderful companion text, one that should be read immediately after the Bible, and the Catechism. I strongly encourage all interested in Catholicism, from those who have chosen to build their lives upon its' foundation to those slightly concerned, to read Triumph. You will be forever enlightened.
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Summary: Help Me... I'm Catholic!!!
Review: Let me start by stating that my intentions for reading this book stemmed from my need to defend my own Catholicism against the onslaught of my many Protestant friends. I am constantly harangued by some Baptist or Pentecostal associate making some historical statement as to the depravity of the Catholic Church. Much of this I find I cannot refute since my storehouse of Catholic wisdom is sorely depleted (I have not been a practicing Catholic for over 20 years now). I had hoped that this book would help me replenish my knowledge. Well the verdict is: It did and it didn't... While I gained a lot of insight to the historical purpose of the Catholic Church, what I also found was that the writer presumed that the reader already possessed a great depth of historical knowledge and an immense vocabulary (this book was NOT written to the eighth grade level for sure). He commonly used terms that required having an encyclopedia nearby. I assert that the whole book was "tough sledding" pretty much all the way through, though, the later chapters were a bit easier to handle, probably because of their being relatively recent historically. Even the continuity was a tad "schismatic" (to use one of the authors terms). But on the whole, I did learn a bunch about Catholicism and Christianity in general. There is much said about Protestant flaws that could armor a renegade Catholic like myself for quite some time. But my main objective was to detect fact from fantasy regarding the claims of my Protestant friends to which this book is only modestly successful. I may try to re-read this book at a later date (perhaps after I go through an "Idiots Guide" or something like that) to see if I can glean more information from it. More likely, I will move on to another source of information.
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Summary: An essential Catholic Resource
Review: Triumph is the most accessible resource for those interested in the history of the Catholic Church who don't want to major in theology. Crocker does a great job telling the story of the Catholic Church as a collection of stories and not as a mere listing of prominent figures and events. The prose is easy to read and does not require a lot of background information like church doctrine or political environments. Everything that is important to the narrative is defined. There are two shortcomings to this book. First, at times he seems more church apologist that objective chronicler. While this may be a refreshing change to those of us used to unsubstantiated attacks against Catholicism, in all fairness I must admit at times he seems to over-correct. Second, the book is too short to amply consider its 2000-year-old subject. At times, this constraint caused Crocker to skimp on coverage of important matters such as Vatican II and the growth of the church into the New World and other colonies like the Philippines.
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