Richard Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism. To get a sense of the way that medieval Christendom understood economic activity, an approach very different from our own, read Tawney's book. For many people it will be an eye-opener.

Hilaire Belloc, Essays of a Catholic. Belloc was at his best as a social and cultural critic, and this volume contains a sampling of different aspects of his thought that should make the reader want to know more and read more.

Christopher Dawson, Dynamics of World History. Almost anything by Dawson is excellent, but this volume contains his essay, "Catholicism and the Bourgeois Mind," one of the best things written by a Catholic in the twentieth century.

José Maria Gironella, The Cypresses Believe in God. The first (and probably best) in a series of novels centered on a family in Spain through the Civil War and beyond, Cypresses is not only a fascinating story, but gives Americans an intimate look at life in a part of Europe very different from that of North America.

Samuel Johnson, Rasselas. One of my favorite books, it's apt to seem strange at first. It has an astringent flavor about it, bracing but ultimately satisfying.

Thomas Storck, a member of our editorial board, writes regularly on the intersection of Catholic social teaching and contemporary culture. You can find his articles for Ethika Politika here.