This work offers the first look at how religion created and prolonged the First World War. At the one-hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the war the author, a historian, reveals the powerful religious dimensions of this modern-day crusade, a period that marked a traumatic crisis for Western civilization, with effects that echoed throughout the rest of the twentieth century. The war was fought by the world's leading Christian nations, who presented...

Italy, 1943--Germany occupies much of the country, placing the Jewish population in grave danger during World War II. As children, Eva Rosselli and Angelo Bianco were raised like family but divided by circumstance and religion. As the years go by, the two find themselves falling in love. But the church calls to Angelo and, despite his deep feelings for Eva, he chooses the priesthood. Now, more than a decade later, Angelo is a Catholic priest and Eva...

"What makes a good missionary makes a good spy. Or so thought "Wild" Bill Donovan when he launched a secret new program under the Office of Strategic Services. His recruits, in turn, believed an American victory would help them protect their foreign ministries and expand the kingdom of God. In Double Crossed, historian Matthew Avery Sutton tells the extraordinary story of the entwined roles of spycraft and faith in World War II. Sutton shows how missionaries,...

"Imagine Elizabeth Bettina's surprise when she discovered that her grandmother's village had a secret: over a half century ago, many of Campagna's residents defied the Nazis and risked their lives to shelter and save hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust. What followd her discovery became an adventure as she uncovered fascinating untold stories of Jews in Italy during World War II and the many Italians who risked everything to save them."--P. [4]...

A Waffen-SS officer employed in the SS Hygiene Institute, is shocked to learn that the process he has developed to eradicate typhus is now being used for killing Jews in extermination camps. When he attempts to notify the Pope about the gassings he is appalled by the lack of response he gets from the Catholic hierarchy, except for one priest.

On May 17, 1968, nine Catholic activists entered a Selective Service office in suburban Catonsville, Maryland, dragged stacks of Draft Board records out into the parking lot, and set them on fire with homemade napalm. They then prayed, and waited to be arrested. In doing so, they kindled a wave of similar protests against the Vietnam War across the country that swept up dozens of participants and inspired thousands, and then millions. HIT & STAY,...