The National Shrine in Washington; DC has been deeply loved; blithely ignored; and passionately criticized. It has been praised as a "dazzling jewel" and dismissed as a "towering Byzantine beach ball." In this intriguing and inventive book; Thomas Tweed shows that the Shrine is also an illuminating site from which to tell the story of twentieth-century Catholicism. He organizes his narrative around six themes that characterize U.S. Catholicism; and he ties these themes to the Shrines material culture--to images; artifacts; or devotional spaces. Thus he begins with the Basilicas foundation stone; weaving it into a discussion of "brick and mortar" Catholicism; the drive to build institutions. To highlight the Churchs inclination to appeal to women; he looks at fund-raising for the Mary Memorial Altar; and he focuses on the Filipino oratory to Our Lady of Antipolo to illustrate the Churchs outreach to immigrants. Throughout; he employs painstaking detective work to shine a light on the many facets of American Catholicism reflected in the shrine.
#534333 in eBooks 2006-04-26 2006-04-26File Name: B005DIASMO
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. entertaining memoirBy CustomerThis is the story of what its like to grow up seriously obese. Sharon Wheatleys story is sometimes funny and sometimes pitiful. Its like Judy Blumes Blubber come to life. Imagine being called compared to a heifer in class and in front of a teacher who decides to do nothing about it. Imagine having a sales clerk who should at least try to be nice in order to sell you more clothes refer to you as gross within earshot of you. Sharon dealt with all this by becoming a jolly good sport and by throwing herself into her music. Later she looses weight and makes it to New York and Broadway. This is a pretty good memoir. It sympathizes with fat teens but doesnt tell them that its okay to just make the pain go away by indulging in a food binge.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Unexpected!By Kelly Jessica ChristopherI initially got this book to read because I have a teenage daughter who is going to pursue musical theatre in college and then as a career. In my research I realized that unlike any other job. my daughter is going to be judged just as much for how she looks as she is for her talent. I was curious to hear her insight on the whole process. I didnt expect to connect with it as personally as I did. I gained weight as a pre-teen and it set the course for a negative self image that I have been fighting for over 30 years. I have never been obese. but I have always struggled with an extra15-30lbs. Ive let it define how I feel about myself as a person. Never would I judge anyone else that way. but I do it to myself. Reading her story has helped open my eyes to how distorted and destructive that way of thinking can be as well as given me a glimpse into the life of a musical theatre actress!4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Sharon is a knockout!By Plein JaneIts been my great privilege to hear Sharon sing and see her perform. and believe me. I was shocked to learn shed struggled with her weight. She has such an exotic and unusual beauty that you just cant take your eyes off her. and when she sings. well. her voice is incredible. Its wonderful to hear a major Broadway talent admit shes had some of the same problems the rest of us struggle with daily.
