pp) Much acclaimed account by Observer journalist of the death of Pope John Paul I which rebuts the claims of murder and conspiracy made in other more sensational accounts. Written with the cooperation of senior figures in the Vatican, it also includes an interview with Archbishop Paul Mareinkus, then head of the Vatican Bank, and a valuable insight into the workings of the Holy See under John Paul II. Mary Craig Spark from Heaven (Spire, £5.99 320 pp) On the tenth anniversary of the first reported apparitions at Medjugorje, well respected journalist and former Catholic Herald columnist looks with a dispassionate eye at the phenomenon that has attracted ten million pilgrims from all around the globe to a small Yugoslav village. "A carefully documented, scrupulously
researched and painstakingly fair book on the phenomenon"
Mary Kenny (Catholic Herald).
Lionel Fanthorpe The Story of St Francis of Assisi (Bishopsgate Press, £2.95) The life and times of one of the church's best loved saints told in words and pictures for children. "Beautifully illustrated, super book" Virginia Barton.
Helen Gardner The Faber Book of Religious Verse (Faber, £6.99 376 pp) A personal selection of poetry that has provided inspiration and sustenance through the ages to believers.
Joanna Moorhead Getting Married (Sheldon Press, £3.50 110 pp) A practical guide to planning a wedding and a life together full of common sense on traditional and more avant garde ceremonies, how to avoid spending a fortune, and on the deeper significance of
marriage as a lifelong commitment.
Henri Nouwen Thomas Merton: Contemporary Critic (Gracewing/Fowler Wright, £ 5 . 9 5 1 5 8 p p Internationally acclaimed spiritual author, based at the North American headquarters of the L'Arche movement, meditates on the life and writings of the monk who has proved such an inspiration to many in books like The Seven Storey Mountain. "In reading this book one can meet for a brief moment the living spirit of Merton. It is a refreshing encounter" Abbot John Eudes Bamberger OCSO.
Anthony Pandiscia For God and Neighbour (St Paul's, £7.95 174 pp) A biography of the Italian mystic Padre Pio by a journalist who visited him often, full of stories about the help and comfort this remarkable figure gave to those who approached him. "What Pandiscia does provide is a particularly vivid flavour of exactly what it felt like to come face to face with Padre Pio" Ian Wilson (Catholic. Herald).
Ian Petit OSB This is My Body (Dorton, Longman and Todd, £3.95) Second only to Ronald Rolheiser in his enduring popularity in the Book Club, this retreat giver and wellknown figure in the charismatic renewal movement offers a clear explanation of the meaning of the mass.
Ronald Rolheiser Forgotten Among the Lilies (Spire, £5.99) Collection of writings by Herald columnist.
Ronald Rolheiser The Restless Heart (Spire, £4.95) Winner of the Winifred Mary Stanford Prize for religious books in 1990, an exploration of our loneliness.
Michael Walsh Butler's Lives of Saints (Burns and Oates, £9.95 482 pp) A new concise edition of this classic, with 20 new entries to reflect recent canonisations and a completely updated index.
Cooking Apples (Gracewing/ Fowler Wright, £4.95) A popular choice last month, easyto-use-in-the-kitchen format version of colourful recipes from the monks of Ampleforth Abbey, inspired by their culinary experiments with the bumper crop of their orchards.