Continental Ambitions
by Kevin Starr, Ignatius Press, £28
A modern, satisfactory survey of Catholicism in colonial North America has long been a desideratum. Why none has appeared is something of a mystery. Wonderful studies of particular aspects of the story are plentiful, but it has proven surprisingly difficult to pull everything together. Thankfully, Kevin Starr has come as close as anyone to rendering the puzzle obsolete. His weighty new book is splendid. I can’t think of a more reliable and entertaining narrative account of this endlessly fascinating topic.
