First published in Latin in 1516, Utopia was the work of Sir Thomas More (1477–1535), the brilliant humanist, scholar, and churchman executed by Henry VIII for his refusal to accept the king as the supreme head of the Church of England.
In this work, which gave its name to the whole genre of books and movements hypothesizing an ideal society, More envisioned a patriarchal island kingdom that practiced religious tolerance, in which

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A highly influential figure in the Church of England, John Henry Newman stunned the Anglican community in 1843, when he left his position as vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford, to join the Roman Catholic church. Perhaps no one took greater offense than Protestant clergyman Charles Kingsley, whose scathing attacks against Newman's faith and honor inspired this brilliant response. Apologia Pro Vita Sua, Newman's spiritual autobiography, explores

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"Set in Jerusalem during the Third Crusade, this 1779 play constitutes an appeal for religious tolerance and cooperation among Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Banned by the church during the author's lifetime, the highly influential drama's timeless considerations include the nature of God, anti-Semitism, wealth and poverty, and the conflict between love and duty"--

"It ranks with the greatest books ever written in the English language. As a narrative of war and adventure it is unsurpassable." - Winston Churchill T. E. Lawrence's autobiographical tale, the basis for the film Lawrence of Arabia, offers a firsthand account of the Arab Revolt against the Turks. Lawrence was already a living legend by the time of this book's initial publication, and his colorful, poetic memoir paints a fascinating portrait of the...