Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (ISBN 1574557203)

Excellent for those seeking to learn about the faith!:
I purchased this book for a faith formation class I'm taking, and let me just say that I am overjoyed to be reading such a fine piece of work. When read hand-in-hand with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a very real, in-depth view of our faith arises; it accurately portrays the beauty and mystery of the faith that Christ has handed to us through His Bride, the Church. I can't stress how fundamentally important it is for Catholics to actually know their faith, and how important this book is for an amateur apologist such as myself. This book is really helping me live the Catholic life, and not just falsely claim the title of being Catholic.

Nice synopsis:
If you're wondering whether or not the Pope is still Roman Catholic, you won't after reading this. I found it very handy, well referenced (lots of notes back to the Catechism itself) and clear to read. It is a reasonably short exposition of the key doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, and presents itself well. I offer this from the perspective of a catholic-minded Lutheran, who has been flipping through the CCC since it was published in the 1990's. While there is a risk that the Compendium will reduce reference to the Catechism, it does help clarify conversations between communions.

Great collection:
This book helps make the catechism easily understood. Great for reading as it combines several sections and explains them for the student, youth or adult.

Excellent summary!:
The Compendium of Catechism of the Catholic Church is an excellent "condensation" (the right word to use escapes me now)of the Catechism. It's written in clear, easy-to-understand English without sounding pedestrian. It's in question and answer format but still following the CCC outline. It is not a substitute however for the CCC which might take much longer to read. But if you want a quick and easy reference to answer your own or others's questions, this is very helpful lest you want to lose the opportunity for some "apostolate" work. It took me less than three days to leisurely read the whole book. And now using it as quick reference as I read the CCC at the same time. I have been impressed with the way Pope Benedict XVI writes. I suspect, much of the content of this book, reflect his personal style of writing. After all, he (as Cardinal Ratzinger) presided over the ICC that prepared the Compendium. The copy I have is the one printed by the USCCB. The texts are clearly printed and very legible. The choices of the of the photos and annotations are excellent. Another great feature of this publication is the compilation of popular prayers and devotions in English and in Latin so you won't need to have a separate prayer book while studying this one. I would have given this copy 5 stars, but the binding broke apart after one reading. Although this could be a problem resulting from my country's climate.

Excellent overview of the basics:
Strongly recommended for an incoming Catholic or an old Catholic brushing up on their knowledge. I am using the Compendium as an ordinary Catholic sitting in on RCIA classes with some soon to be Catholics. It has turned out to be a very readable primer (or review, in my case) on Catholic teaching, and I believe it covers the bases (with references to corresponding sections of the Catechism at margins in case anyone wants more depth). While we used this in a class format, I think it would be readable for oneself or in a group (or in a family). The format is Q & A and split into five sections--it's pretty manageable to go through it quickly (i.e., a couple months), although I would recommend taking time to digest the information. I do find it helpful to have someone more knowledgeable than me (priest, etc) to help when I don't understand something. There were a few "answers" that I needed help understanding. This is not a replacement for RCIA or formal catechism, but I think this book is now an essential in learning about and understanding the Catholic faith (unless you're inclined to tackle the whole Catechism). For me, it was a needed refresher course. There is a lovely prayer section in the back. My only complaint is that I wish the Apostle's Creed could be repeated in the back to make saying the Rosary from the book a little easier for those of us who haven't memorized it quite yet. It's not an extensive prayer handbook, however, so I don't know if it's fair to ask it to do this. It won't tell you how to go through mass (the How-to Book of Mass is good for this) if you're a new convert, or how to do confession, although it does discuss the spirit of these matters. I got the paperback version, and it seems to have taken abuse from my throwing it around in my bag quite a bit, so I believe even the paperback is well-made.