• "Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued.... Woods has opened up an area of historical analysis that should invite further study."
    -Journal of American History

  • "During these times that challenge our freedoms there is no one more qualified to make U.S. history relevant to the fight against big government than Thomas Woods."
    -Barry Goldwater Jr.
    Former Member of Congress

  • "I strongly recommend Woods's work."
    -The Honorable Ron Paul,
    U.S. House of Representatives

  • "Written with great clarity and fluency, making the complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable."
    -Journal of American Studies

  • "A must-read."
    -Barron's

  • "An excellent reading source for anyone interested in financial markets, and much more so for anyone interested in learning about capitalism without all the misinterpretations being thrown about in the financial media."
    -Asia Times

  • "Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read."
    -Catholic Historical Review

  • "An engaging and important contribution to scholarship on the history of American Catholicism."
    -Journal of the Historical Society

  • "Woods and [co-author Kevin] Gutzman appeal to both left and right in this constitutionalist jeremiad…. The authors' exegeses of the Constitution and court decisions, heavy on original intent arguments, are lucid and telling."
    -Publishers Weekly

  • "A marvelous read. Every chapter taught me something new and unexpected."
    -Tom Bethell, senior editor,
    The American Spectator

  • "The hottest book today is Meltdown, by my friend Tom Woods."
    -Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst,
    FOX News Channel

  • "Should be required reading."
    -Economic Affairs (London)

  • "Woods, one of the best classical liberal [libertarian] scholars of his generation, has once more placed us in his debt with this lucid and tightly argued book."
    -David Gordon, The Mises Review

  • "Tom Woods is one of my dearest allies in the struggle against wrong-headed and dangerous economic policy."
    -Peter Schiff

The Church Confronts Modernity

The Church Confronts Modernity:
Catholic Intellectuals
and the Progressive Era
by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

Columbia University Press, 2004

Click here to order from Amazon.
Click here to order from Barnes & Noble.
Click here to order the Kindle version.

“Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued and offers a much-needed corrective to the Americanist historiography on American Catholicism. Woods has opened up an area of historical analysis that should invite further study.”
-Journal of American History

“Written with great clarity and fluency, making the complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable…. This is a very important book which will be indispensable reading for scholars interested in the history of religion.”
-Journal of American Studies

“Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read.”
-Catholic Historical Review

“Moves briskly and gracefully through the thorny issues confronting the Church during the first two decades of the 20th century. An effective and detailed examination of Catholic intellectual life during a little-studied period.”
-Theological Studies

“This book will be a valuable resource…. Highly recommended.”
-Choice (review publication for academic libraries)

“A fine work of intellectual history.”
-Rev. Kenneth Baker, S.J., editor, Homiletic & Pastoral Review

“A lucid and accessible book.”
-Books & Culture: A Christian Review
(book review publication of Christianity Today)

“Though he is writing about the Progressive Era, Thomas Woods deals with issues that are still both timely and relevant. He explores how American Catholics redefined the limits of faith and doctrine in an age of social and intellectual transformation, a time when cherished orthodoxies seemed ever more at odds with secular assumptions. The Church Confronts Modernity is thoughtful, well-written and rewarding.”
-Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies, Pennsylvania State University

“This book is long overdue….An engaging and important contribution to scholarship on the history of American Catholicism.”
-Journal of the Historical Society

“A brilliant study, The Church Confronts Modernity illumines a period of recent American history too long neglected by first-rate scholars. We all stand indebted to Professor Woods’ deep and insightful analysis of Catholic thought in what was the increasingly hostile milieu of the Progressive Era. Indispensable.”
-Donald J. D’Elia, State University of New York, New Paltz

“Woods’s analysis of Catholic trends in education, sociology, and labor are…worthwhile contributions to the literature.”
-American Historical Review

“A useful contribution to the growing field of Catholic intellectual history….Woods’ thoughtful study casts new light on the Catholic response to the culture of progressivism.”
-American Catholic Studies

Online Reviews:
SeattleCatholic.com
Homiletic & Pastoral Review
New Oxford Review (scroll down)
Paul Gottfried, The American Conservative (online at LewRockwell.com)