A captivating account that narrates, month by month, the events of 1917: Red Banners, White Mantle is popular Catholic history at its finest. The drama of the Great War and the Russian Revolution are juxtaposed with the spiritual dimension of the age: the diabolism of Rasputin, the Apparition of the Virgin at Fatima, the malignancy of Lenin, the saintly courage of (the now blessed) Charles of Austria. Few standard histories have ever given such a high degree of consideration to the supernatural and the Christian interpretation of history as does 1917.

This Almanac of Environmental Trends is an example of the creative destruction of the marketplace, or, in the language of popular culture, a “reboot” of a stale franchise—the annual Index of Leading Environmental Indicators. Since 1994, the Index has reported highlights of environmental trends in the United States, most—though not all—of which have been steadily improving. The 2011 Almanac of Environmental Trends brings tracking environmental progress fully into the 21^st century of real-time analysis and commentary. The Almanac explores the nature and sources of environmental progress, affirming the central role of markets, technology, and human creativity in solving the environmental challenges of our time.

Steven F. Hayward is Senior Fellow at the Pacific Research Institute and the F.K. Weyerhaeuser Fellow in Law and Economics at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington DC. He holds a Ph.D. in American Studies and an M.A. in Government from Claremont Graduate School, and has been a visiting professor at Georgetown University and Ashland University. He writes frequently on a wide range of current topics, including environmentalism, law, economics, and public policy for publications including National Review, Reason, The Weekly Standard, The American Spectator, The Public Interest, the Claremont Review of Books, and Policy Review. In addition to being the principal author of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators for 15 years, his most recent book is Mere Environmentalism.

This small volume is designed to provoke thought about key question in modern research ethics. The result of a three-year collaboration between the nation’s two leading Catholic institutions devoted to medical ethics, The Catholic Medical Association and The National Catholic Bioethics Center, A Catholic Guide to Ethical Clinical Research attempts to resolve a series of real-life cases in research ethics by applying four key principles of the moral life, namely, truth, respect for life, the integrity of persons, and the conjoined ideas of generosity and justice. After a description of these principles, the authors turn to a remarkably wide range of cases on such diverse topics as informed consent, non-directed research, embryonic stem cells, in vitro fertilization, contraception, genetic modification, performance-enhancement, the selection of drugs for development, studies on poor or underprivileged populations, off-label use, and many other common cases in research ethics. The principles presented are true and certain, but the cases represent probable opinions. While the authors are certainly convinced of the merits of their own position, they resolve these cases in a manner that is designed to provoke the thoughtful reaction of the reader and so generate discussion. The main purpose of the volume is to show how principles should be applied to particular cases, thus providing a clinic in moral reasoning. To see and understand how the principles are applied in these particular cases should assist the reader in seeing how the same could be applied in other and perhaps very dissimilar cases. The opinions offered are the best-informed and most orthodox that could be expected from any assembly of Catholic scholars. Clinical research is a vitally important field of medicine that poses many moral challenges for the conscientious Catholic. This guide is a practical manual on how to think about the moral problems that confront the typical worker in the research setting today.

Despite the donation of billions of dollars in the fight against AIDS, the disease remains without cure and continues to spread. Why has so little progress been made? Using abundant evidence drawn from the latest scientific research, Hanley and de Irala show that the most effective method of combating the AIDS crisis is through sexual abstinence and fidelity in marriage. Where this strategy has been employed, especially in African countries such as Uganda, the decline in AIDS has been remarkable. Yet this common-sense strategy is rejected by the leading advocates for the victims of AIDS and is ignored by public policy experts, the media, and governments. The problem, the authors note, is an ideological bias against methods that rely on self-control and behavior change. Despite the effectiveness of these methods, they remain outcasts in the struggle to contain one of the world’s most devastating diseases.

Hanley and de Irala turn the tables on this defeatist mentality, arguing that ideological commitments need to be set aside in favor of efforts to change human behavior. The big-money interests that control the vast amount of wealth directed to AIDS prevention will not want to read this volume, but the evidence lies with the teachings of the Catholic Church, which has been counseling self-control, abstinence, and fidelity in marriage throughout the millennia. In his foreword, Harvard professor Edward Green reiterates, through his own experience, the success of this method.

Too many colleges and universities have become places for focusing on means and not upon ends—and, as such, places where the confused and bewildered of the next generation acquire techniques and tools, but graduate having gained neither direction nor order to their souls.

The Hillsdale College History Faculty has painstakingly assembled American Heritage: A Reader in order to provide its own students with a true liberal arts education grounded in the American tradition. Perfect for classroom use at the high school level and up, this extraordinary textbook will provide readers both inside and outside the classroom with a traditional educational experience that enlarges and ennobles the mind.

From the Preface:

“The primary role of this Reader is to supply a rich sample of documents from the periods we examine. These primary sources provide portals into the American past. Reading them, we escape the provincialism of our own time and culture. As artifacts of the past, they do not convey information merely, but they are the sources that historians interpret to make sense of our past.  Consequently, we invite students to engage in the same enterprise as they examine these fragments of the American past as the primary means of understanding both the roots of American order and sources for contemporary disorders.  This daunting task of viewing sympathetically ideas that, although part of our heritage, seem distant and alien is an important and exhilarating part of a proper education in which one seeks to make sense of oneself as an American.”

First published in 1960 to celebrate the 5th Anniversary of Bill Buckley’s brash, consequential magazine of opinion, An Evening with National Review: Some Memorable Articles from the First Five Years is republished, in its exact form, for the enjoyment of today’s conservatives, who can see why the great writers who made National Review their journalistic home in the late 1950s — people such as Whittaker Chambers, Russell Kirk, Morrie Ryskind, and many others(including renowned cartoonists C.D. Batchelor and John Kreuttner) — remain worthwhile, entertaining, and timeless.

* William F. Buckley Jr. — founder of National Review
* Whittaker Chambers — author of the classic memoir Witness
* Russell Kirk — godfather of the modern conservative movement
* James Jackson Kilpatrick — leading conservative journalist
* Morrie Ryskind — renowned humorist and screenwriter
* Frank S. Meyer — influential conservative thinker and advocate of “fusionism”
* Garry Wills — award-winning author first published in National Review
* Ralph de Toledano — important conservative journalist and music critic
* Dorothy Sayers — best-selling British novelist and essayist
* John Chamberlain — America’s premier book reviewer
* James Burnham — preeminent conservative thinker and writer
* Priscilla L. Buckley — National Review’s managing editor

Stanley Jaki examines the words Jesus spoke to Peter at Caesar Philipi (Matthew 16:18): “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my Church.” The richness of their meaning is uncovered through Jaki’s splendid discussion of the geography of biblical events and the Old Testament background to communal structure and leadership.

A giant in stature and influence, the late Henry Hyde’s defense of freedom, justice, and the sanctity of innocent human life left a powerful legacy on Capitol Hill and around the world.  Catch the Burning Flag: Speeches and Random Observations is a handsome hardcover collection that captures the most important thoughts and deepest reflections by the great conservative, renowned for decades as the House of Representative’s most persuasive orator. A must for your library, Catch the Burning Flag includes Hyde’s most powerful speeches (with his own insightful commentary) on a range of topics, from the Clinton impeachment trials, term limits, and abortion to flag burning, the Iran-Contra affair, and the fate of Democracy.

From the Foreword:

“These speeches reflect a rare combination of eloquence and erudition, and something more. In an age of increasing specialization on Capitol Hill, Henry Hyde was the Renaissance man there. Readers of this book must be impressed by the breadth and variety of his expertise. Considering the liberal assault on Hyde as a Catholic extremist who keeps poor women from abortions and persecuted Bill Clinton, the tone here may come as a surprise to some. These selections are free of Republican partisanship and remarkably non-ideological.

A collected book of speeches is rare in 21st Century American politics because hardly any members of today’s political class have anything to say that is worth putting between hard covers. It is painful even to contemplate reading the pabulum passing for oratory–tired rhetoric distilled from partisan talking points. I cannot think of more than two or three sitting members of Congress who conceivably would publish a collection of their speeches that anyone other than members of their immediate families would want to read.

Hyde delivered two of the rare speeches in the contemporary House that were recalled beyond the moment of their presentation: one in behalf of a constitutional amendment against flag burning, and the other against term limits. In each, he was able to take two unpopular causes derided by the liberal establishment (the news media in particular) and elevate them with the combination of eloquence and scholarship that has marked his Congressional oratory.”–Robert Novak

Henry J. Hyde (1924-2007) served as a Republican Congressman from the Illinois 6th District from 1975 to 2007, following service in the state legislature from 1986 to 1974. Considered to be the most persuasive speaker on Capitol Hill, he was chairman of the House Judiciary and International Relations Committees. The Chicago native graduated from Georgetown University and Loyola University School of Law, served in the United States Navy from 1944 to 1946, and the United States Naval Reserve until 1968.

What They Are Saying:

“Henry Hyde’s luminous career demonstrated that strong convictions, strongly fought for, need not be impediments to bipartisan respect and affection. Readers of this volume will be delighted by the power of a much-loved man’s public life. Their delight will be dampened only by the melancholy realization of how rare such men are.”–George F. Will, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist

“For more than three decades, Henry Hyde was one of the most respected Members of Congress. No wonder that this collection of his speeches and essays is wise and inspiring, poignant and funny, candid and insightful–sometimes all at the same time. Hyde recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, our nation’s highest civilian honor. This book shows how richly he deserved it.”–Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight, Knights of Columbus

This second edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect recent developments in magisterial teaching and scientific research. More than thirty authors, who are experts in their fields, examine moral action theory, key ethical principles, ethics committees, the embryo and fetus, contraception, reproductive technologies, difficult pregnancies, rape protocols, the determination of death, palliative care, nutrition and hydration, the persistent vegetative state, do-not-resuscitate orders, health care proxies, organ donation, vaccination refusals, genetic medicine, human experimentation, religious freedom, triage, cooperation with evil, state mandates, organizational ethics, and other topics.