Books have arrived

My books arrived today. Here are my selections and why I chose them:

1. C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, by Joseph Pearce. Pearce seems to be making a career out of literary biographies. I read and enjoyed his book on Tolkien when Lord of the Rings movies were out. This one examines how it is that Lewis was a high church man and yet was never Catholic (unlike Cardinal Newman, for example, who famously jumped from the Anglican ship). I am also looking at his book on Chesterton.
2. The Fourth Crusade, by Jonathan Phillips. The fourth Crusade never actually made it to the Holy Land. For some reason or other, they sacked Constantinople instead. This is one of the major reasons for the first split in Christian history, the one between East and West. There simply has to be a story here.
3. A Mighty Fortress: A History of the German People, by Steven Ozment. There’s a lot of German and germanic culture in my family. I’d like to understand it in a wider and broader scope.
4. The History and Future of the Roman Liturgy, by Denis Crouan, S.T.D. The Mass is filled to the brim with meaning and history and I really want to get to know it better. I’m considering Ratzinger’s book on the liturgy for a future purchase.
5. A History of Philosophy, vol. 2: Augustine to Duns Scotus, by Frederick Copelston. You didn’t think I would stop this series after only the first volume, did you? I’ve read a history of philosophy in six volumes that was good enough for me at the time, but now I think I’m ready for a deeper look. This series is well regarded and the author is a Jesuit to boot.
6. A History of Philosophy, vol. 3: Ockham, Bacon, and the beginning of the Modern World, also by Frederick Copelston

This ought to keep me out of trouble for some time.