
For many years, Christ the King Lord of History and its accompanying workbook/study guide has been a go-to set of books for homeschoolers searching for a conservative presentation on history that is told with an emphasis on the influence of the Catholic Church. The original was written in 1994. Needless to say, a lot of history has happened since then!
Anne Carroll and Belinda Terro Mooney have recently put out a companion edition, Christ the King Lord of History, The Continuing Story, which covers the modern era. I was recently given the opportunity to review this new volume. I came to it without having read the original so I can’t speak to the similarity of style, but it is written by the same authors so I have no reason to think this would not be a continuation of the previous book.
Material is arranged topically rather than chronologically. Chapter 31 Into the New Millenium (numbering continues from the previous book) provides some background on Karol Wojtyla, who ultimately became Pope John Paul II. It covers the highlights of his papacy and some of the major political events he was involved in as well as famous saints he canonized. There is a shorter section on Pope Benedict XVI. The only mention of Pope Francis is that he was elected.
Chapter 32 The Rise of Radical Islam describes how a minority of Muslims pursued a terrorist agenda. This chapter covers the Munich Olympic Games, the Entebbe Hostage Crisis, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, 9/11, The Monks of Tibhirine, and Isis.
Chapter 33 The Worldwide Attack on the Human Person and The Counterattack in Defense of The Right to Life goes back to the 1950s and efforts to control population. It discusses the legalization of contraception, Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, and then Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion. The book was published before the 2022 decision that sent abortion back to state control. It also covers those pushing for euthanasia rights. This chapter also portrays the countermovement including the March for Life, 40 Days for Life, and crisis pregnancy centers.
Chapter 34 Major Issues in the Early 21st Century spends time focusing on Chinese history and its rise as a world power, including its many human rights violations. For the U.S., it provides a short summary of the presidencies of George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. This chapter also discusses religious persecution around the world in our modern days. There is a special section on practicing works of reparation through devotion to the Holy Face.
Each chapter is followed by review questions, suggested projects, and a workbook/study guide section.
Christ the King Lord of History: The Continuing Story is billed as presenting history through an “America-centric, Catholic, conservative lens” and it does fulfill that mission. It would perhaps be helpful to utilize this book with more secular sources to gain a fuller portrait of some of these historical events as well as to learn about modern events not covered in these pages. However, for those who have used the original book and want to continue their studies in the same vein, this is a worthy addition!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Purchases made after clicking a link help support this site. Thank you!