Catholic Apologist's Bookshelf!

Here's an annotated bibliography of some of the best general Catholic apologetics books out there. It is far from a complete list, but enough for a fledgling apologist to get grounded! Of course, there are many other great apologetics books that address particular topics, but I have tried to stick with those of a more general nature.

I have also included a bibliography of Catholic conversion stories. Many of these come from some of the premier Catholic Apologists. They all serve as great apologetics tools. The authors necessarily respond to many of the common objections against the Catholic Church as they describe what led them to recognize the Catholic Church as the one true Church established by Jesus Christ!


Apologetics Bibliography

• Armstrong, Dave. A Biblical Defense of Catholicism. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2003. A comprehensive look at the biblical support of Catholic teaching.
• Chacon, Frank, and Jim Burnham. Beginning Apologetics Series. Farmington, NM: San Juan Catholic Seminars, 1993-2005. A great set of booklets that systematically lays out how to defend Catholic teaching amongst a variety of specific groups.
• Drummey, James J. Catholic Replies. Norwood, MA: C.R. Publications, 1995. 800 Questions and answers on some of the most pressing questions Catholics face.
• Drummey, James J. Catholic Replies 2. Norwood, MA: C.R. Publications, 1998. 800 more questions on a wide variety of important Catholic topics.
• Hahn, Scott. Reasons to Believe: How to Understand, Explain, and Defend the Catholic Faith. New York: Doubleday, 2007. Comprehensive overview of how to explain the Catholic faith to others.
• Keating, Karl. Catholicism and Fundamentalism. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1988. A more in depth look of the differences between Catholics and Fundamentalist Christians, as well as an analysis of the roots of many of the common misconceptions Fundamentalists have regarding Catholic teaching.
• Keating, Karl. What Catholics Really Believe: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Catholic Faith. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1995. Written for beginners.
• Kreeft, Peter and Ronald K. Tacelli. Handbook of Christian Apologetics. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994. This book is not specifically Catholic (Kreeft is Catholic but Tacelli is not) but it is a great resource for general Christian apologetics, such as the existence of God, the problem of evil, etc.
• Madrid, Patrick. Pope Fiction: Answers to 30 Myths & Misconceptions about the Papacy. San Diego, CA: Basilica Press, 1999. As the title suggests, this book addresses the most common misconceptions people have regarding the Pope. I include this, even though it addresses one particular topic, because it is they key difference between the Catholic Church and every other form of Christianity. Many of the chapters also address other topics (such as Galileo and the Inquisition) from the perspective of the papacy.
• Madrid, Patrick. Search and Rescue: How to Bring Your Family and Friends Into — Or Back Into —the Catholic Church. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2001. This book takes a pastoral approach in giving advice to the reader on how to approach the topic of Catholicism with family and friends. Not an apologetics book per se, but very helpful in applying the information learned from other apologetics books.
• Madrid, Patrick. Where is That in the Bible?. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2001. This book identifies and explains the scriptural roots of those doctrines unique to Catholicism.
• Madrid, Patrick. Why is That in Tradition?. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2002. Similar to Where is That in the Bible?, this book uses the writings of the Early Church Fathers to illustrate that the earliest Christians were Catholic in their beliefs and practices.
• Salza, John. The Biblical Basis for the Catholic Faith. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 2005. Similar to Armstrong’s book, but briefer.
• Schreck, Alan. Catholic and Christian: An Explanation of Commonly Misunderstood Catholic Beliefs. Revised ed. Cincinnati, OH: Servant Publications, 2004. A good overview of Catholic teaching from an apologetics standpoint.
• Suprenant, Leon J., Jr., and Philip C.L. Gray. Faith Facts: Answers to Catholic Questions. Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing, 1999. A compilation of many of Catholics United for the Faith's most popular Faith Facts tracts.
• Suprenant, Leon J., Jr., and Philip C.L. Gray. Faith Facts II: Answers to Catholic Questions. Steubenville, OH: Emmaus Road Publishing, 2004. The sequel with even more answers to many important questions on the Catholic faith.

Apologetics Conversion Stories

• Currie, David. Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1996.
• Hahn, Scott, and Kimberly Hahn. Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1993.
• Howard, Thomas. Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1988.
• Howard, Thomas. Lead, Kindly Light: My Journey to Rome. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2004.
• Madrid, Patrick, Ed. Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic. San Diego, CA: Basilica Press, 1994.
• Madrid, Patrick, Ed. Surprised by Truth 2: 15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2000.
• Madrid, Patrick, Ed. Surprised by Truth 3: 10 More Converts Explain the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic. Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press, 2002.
• Ray, Steve. Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historic Church. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1997.
• Schoeman, Roy, Ed. Honey From the Rock: Sixteen Jews Find the Sweetness of Christ. San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 2007.
• Shea, Mark. By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition. Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, 1996