How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization

By: Thomas E. Woods Jr.

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Length: 7 hrs

Publisher's summary

Ask a college student today what he knows about the Catholic Church and his answer might come down to one word: "corruption". But that one word should be "civilization".

Western civilization has given us modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of law, a sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts we take for granted. But what is the ultimate source of these gifts? Best-selling author and professor Thomas E. Woods, Jr., provides the answer: the Catholic Church.

No institution has done more to shape Western civilization than the two-thousand-year-old Catholic Church and in ways that many of us have forgotten or never known. Woods' book is essential reading for recovering this lost truth.

©2005 Thomas E. Woods, Jr. (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"I recommend Professor Woods's book not only to anyone interested in the history of the Catholic Church, but also to any student of the history and development of Western civilization." (Dr. Paul Legutko, Stanford University)

should be taught in schools

One of the better books on history and religion out there. A wealth of knowledge and information given in a way that is unsurpassed in the way it is presented. We'll worth the read.

What an eye-opener

I learned so much good information reading this book. I no longer need to be quiet when somebody says the church is anti-science. Now that I know that the church built the foundation for so much that we take for granted today. Thank you for writing this book.

Excellent

The Catholic Church is like a parent. When the children In a family have a difficult time place blame on the parents. This church instituted by Christ has done a wonderful job throughout the development of Western civilization. Christ was a revolutionary and many even to this day reject his revolution. In doing so they place heavy blame on their parent church. This is unfortunate and is well developed and brought out in this excellent book.

Good book, shoddy performance

The actor's voice is a little hard to get used to. At first I thought it was being read by a computer. The book itself presents a good summary of the role the Catholic Church and its members played in the development of modern society. At times the author seems to go on tangents, though. Perhaps the print edition includes them, but it would have been nice to have footnotes and references to research the people, events, and ideas in this book further.

great overview and history

if you want a red pill on the "dark ages" and how all of the great things of the current era, which are sadly decaying, owe their debt to the Christian church, particularly in catholicism, this is the perfect book. it's concise while also jam packed with information that never feels pedantic.

The forgotten truth

This is an excellent retelling of the Church’s forgotten history. What a refreshing change to hear about our history without all of the emphasis being exclusively on the less than perfect actions in our history. This is a good read for practicing Catholics and unbiased historian buffs. This book is not for anyone that is biased against Catholism.

Enlightening history

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would highly recommend this audiobook. It gives plenty of examples of how the Catholic Church really changed the world. I am fairly well-read on Church history, but this book went deeper than my previous studies have and I learned quite a bit. In particular, the section on how the Church in Spain built the foundations for international law in response to the exploration of the Americas was fascinating. Popular culture today can't get beyond the Inquisition, which it blows out of proportion. This book shows how the Church actually built the ideas that eventually led to the idea of inalienable rights. It also shows how the Church developed economic ideas that led to modern Western economic freedom. This is a scholarly work that educates and debunks many myths.

Plethora of information

There is SO much information included here, I felt like I was in a lecture hall and should be taking notes! It was very interesting in all the content, but I couldn't begin to tell someone any details.

Excellent History of the Catholic Church

There are many remarkable, and noteworthy contributions made by the Catholic (the word catholic is from the greek language, and means "universal") Church to western civilization. Thanks to Dr. Woods, these contributions, and their significance can be rightly appreciated.

Barrett Whitener did an exceptional job reading this audiobook.

ok book, great info

good not great. clearly tells the compelling story of the amazing Catholic Church! I recommend it.