TRIUMPH The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church

As the subtitle suggests, this title is a decidedly partisan account of the Catholic Church's entire history. Though it champions the Church, describing its achievements in loving detail, and judging its competitors and enemies harshly, the author is also honest. He carefully explains all of the Church's failings. Happily, he accomplishes all this in prose written for the ear, which John McDonough delivers wonderfully. McDonough's rich, resonant tones fit the author's cadence perfectly; he understands when to linger over a phrase, even a vowel, and when to move quickly. The text sometimes seems a lecture, sometimes a friendly explanation, and sometimes a sermon, but McDonough's emotional tone always matches the author's. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]