Faculty Bookshelf: HOUCK

A powerful novel of the North Atlantic in World War II, this is the story of the British ships Compass Rose and Saltash and of their desperate cat-and-mouse game with Nazi U-boats. First published to great acclaim in 1951, THE CRUEL SEA remains a classic novel of endurance and daring.

The classic dramatization of Sir Thomas More's historic conflict with Henry VIII--a compelling portrait of a courageous man who died for his convictions. Sir Thomas More--the brilliant nobleman, lawyer, humanist, author of such works as Utopia--was a long-time friend and favorite of Henry VIII, ascending to the position of Lord Chancellor in 1529. Yet he was also a staunch Catholic, and when Henry broke with the Church in 1531 after the Pope had refused to grant him a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, More resigned the Chancellorship. In 1534, Parliament passed a bill requiring all subjects to take an oath acknowledging the supremacy of England's king over all foreign sovereigns--including the Pope. More refused, was imprisoned, and finally was executed in 1535. An enduring modern classic, A Man for All Seasons "challenges the mind, and, in the end, touches the heart" (New York Times).

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this classic book is generally regarded as the finest novel ever written on american politics. It describes the career of Willie Stark, a back-country lawyer whose idealism is overcome by his lust for power. New Foreword by Joseph Blotner for this fiftieth anniversary edition.