A Faith-Full Achievement
by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 3/5/2001
National Book Award winner James Carroll (American Requiem) is doing very well with Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews. It made PW's monthly religion hardcover list for February, and this week, it's on our weekly nonfiction chart. The book is a history of anti-Semitism in the Catholic Church, and the author issues a call "to purge this long and dark history that infects every aspect of the church." Excellent reviews and nontraditional media events (including many speaking engagements and panel discussions) have helped the launch of this book. During his 10-city national tour, Carroll spoke at bookstores, universities and interfaith centers, choosing venues that brought together Jewish, Catholic and other Christian clergy and scholars to discuss the book and its implications. Houghton Mifflin's first printing was 50,000, and subsequent printings bring the current in-print total to 85,000.
