You don't have to be a "Domer" to appreciate the significance Notre Dame has had in the history of Catholic higher education. Its own history, however, is largely unknown prior to the presidency of Father Theodore Hesburgh, who began teaching on the campus in 1945. Robert Burns, a historian and former administrator in Notre Dame's College of Arts and Letters, has corrected this with a vibrant and popular history sure to find its way unto alumni/ae bookshelves.

Here we find Father Basil Antoine Marie Moreau, founder of the newly created Congregation of Holy Cross, who became involved in the missionary movement after the French Restoration. At the request of the bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, Moreau sent his "best and brightest" priest, Father Edward Frederick Sorin, who set out for America in 1842 with a half dozen Holy Cross brothers. There, by Notre Dame du Lac, Sorin began a small school that would grow to become the home to scientist John Zahm, coach Knute Rockne and his star athlete George Gipp, and philosopher Francis McMahon, a cause celebre over academic freedom in the 1940s. Burns' text is most readable and he has combed through considerable archival material in crafting his narrative. The history will be of value to educators and sports enthusiasts alike. -- Patrick Hayes, '00