Père Jacques: Resplendent in Victory
by Rev. Francis J. Murphy '57

Rev. Francis J. Murphy '57 is the author of Père Jacques: Resplendent in Victory (ICS Publications), a biography of Lucien-Louis Bunel, better known as Père Jacques, the Catholic priest who sacrificed his own life to preserve the lives of three young Jewish boys during World War II. The subject of the Louis Malle film, Au Revoir Les Enfants, Père Jacques' life is examined here in its entirety. The book traces the priest's "lifelong commitment to social justice" from his humble beginnings, to his career as a headmaster, to his plight in a Nazi concentration camp.

Divided into two parts, the book first details the priest's dedication to the service of others, then introduces previously unpublished selections from Père Jacques' writings. 

Fr. Murphy is an associate professor of European history at Boston College. He also serves as chaplain for the Sisters of Charity in Wellesley, Mass. 

The Catholic Church in the Twentieth Century: Renewing and Reimagining the City of God
John G. Deedy Jr. '48

The Catholic Church in the Twentieth Century: Renewing and Reimagining the City of God, published by the Liturgical Press and edited by John G. Deedy Jr. '48, is an assessment of the watershed events in Catholicism's last 100 years. Among the events covered in the book are the convening of the Second Vatican Council and the election of a pontiff from the Eastern bloc. A main selection of the Catholic Book Club and the first alternate selection of the Thomas More Book Club of Chicago, the book's essayists include Sally Cunneen Honorary '91 and David O'Brien of the College's history department. 

Deedy is a respected journalist specializing in Catholic issues as well as an award-winning author. A former editor of the newspapers of the Dioceses of Worcester and Pittsburgh, he was managing editor of Commonweal from 1967-1978. He is the author of numerous books, including The Catholic Fact Book. His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Nation and The New Republic. 

The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years
by Joseph A. Califano Jr. '52

Texas A&M University Press has reissued The Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years, by Joseph A. Califano Jr. '52. Califano served as one of President Johnson's chief domestic advisors. The New York Times Book Review praised the book for its vivid portrait of the president: "Johnson leaps off the page in all his raw and earthly glory." Writing in The Washington Post Book World, historian Stephen Ambrose called the book "a walk through the half-decade . that was the most tumultuous time in the lives of every American over [40] years of age . This book is recommended without reservation." 

Califano served as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare from 1977 to 1979. Currently chairman and president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, he is at work on a memoir.