The Catechism of the Catholic Church has been and remains a worldwide bestseller. It was published in the UK by Continuum under the Geoffrey Chapman imprint. Many people found the language of the original Catechism quite hard to follow. It was also comprehensive and extremely long. There has been a need ever since for a concise version of the original Catechism - in simpler language with all technical terms explained fully for the lay reader. Michael Shaughnessy has achieved this aim brilliantly and his final text has received the full approval of the Church authorities.The language used is clear and the author has taken some pains to provide lucid explanations, which are elegantly written and as non technical as possible. The material from the original Catechism has been effectively synthesised to provide a reliable and readable resource text.The book has been written in narrative style which is preferable to the traditional question and answer form of catechisms of past times.Throughout, a great weight has been given to the second sections of each part of the original Catechism, in order to focus on the application of the general truths of the faith to particular circumstances.Michael Shaughnessy set himself an ambitious task. He has accomplished it with enormous skill and intelligence.