An Appeal: In Soft Garments (Final Update)

Hello friends.  I don't typically make an appeal on this blog, since I like to keep it focused on all things Catholic Bibles.  As some of you know, I teach theology at Catholic high school, Bishop Foley Catholic in Madison Heights, MI.  One of the classes I teach is called Catholic Apologetics.  I have offered this course for the past two years and a number of graduates have emailed me letting me know how much they appreciated taking the class now that they are in college.  For the past two years, I have relied on various articles that I have made copies of, along with our short, yet helpful, textbook Beginning Apologetics.  I have always desired an additional book to help supplement the resources that I have always used, particularly in the area of apologetics with atheists.  After spending a number of months investigating which book might work best, I have settled on Msgr. Ronald Knox's In Soft Garments.  Recently republished by Ignatius Press, this volume contains a number of Knox's conferences to Oxford University students during the 20's and 30's.  Ignatius Press describes this book in this way:

When the Holy See gave general permission for Catholics to study again at Oxford and Cambridge, the stipulation was made that lectures be offered to provide support for their faith, as Catholics would be a minority in a rather hostile atmosphere. In the days when C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien trod the greens of Oxford, those lectures were provided by the wise and witty Msgr. Ronald Knox, himself a convert to the Catholic Church.

Erudite and profound, Monsignor Knox not only helped keep the Catholic students aflame with faith, but also led many lapsed Catholics and non-Catholics into the Church. His writings continue to provide inspiration and instruction to all those confronting questions of life and faith.

Some of the best talks by Knox are gathered in this volume. "If God Exists", "The Unholiness of the Church" and "Unselfishness in Marriage" are but a few of the topics he deftly discussed in a manner as entertaining and pertinent now as when they were first given at Oxford in the 1920s and 30s.

It is a fine book, I believe, which is both readable and will prove helpful to my students in this subject.  However, the school where I work at is not large, which means our budget is quite small as well.  I have a copy or two of this book, but would like to provide a classroom set for my students.

That is where you come in, if you choose to help out.  I have set up an Amazon.com (baby) registry which contains one item: In Soft Garments.  I am looking to obtain around 30 copies of this book.  If you are willing to help me out in this, I would be most appreciative.  While I cannot offer any amazing gifts, I do promise that anyone who donates will be included in my family's Sunday rosary for 2015.

I thank you for your consideration.  If you are willing to help, you can follow the following link: Registry.  (Make sure to choose my address for shipping!)


UPDATE 1:
We are already close to half way there, so thank you to all who have contributed.  I honestly didn't expect to be at this point in less than a day.  Also, it appears that we have purchased all of the initial Amazon.com stock of In Soft Garments, but you should be able to continue ordering.  The site notes: "In stock but may require an extra 1-2 days to process".

UPDATE 2:
So, it seems that Amazon has completely sold out of its stock of In Soft Garments.  So, if you are still willing to help out, I would advise two options:

1) Purchase one of the used or new copies from the Amazon marketplace.  If you could let me know that you did this, that would be helpful, since I am not sure it will take that book off the registry count.

2) You can go to Ignatius Press and purchase directly from the publisher.  Here is the link.  The price is almost identical.  If you do it this way, please email me, mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com, to let me know how many copies and in order to get my address.

Again, thank you for your consideration!  

UPDATE 3:
We are over the half way point, with 17 editions of In Soft Garments being purchased. Thank you to all who contributed.  At this point, it appears that all of the stock at Amazon.com has been purchased.  You can still get it through the Marketplace if you choose.  I also recommend ordering it directly from Ignatius Press.  As I mentioned above, the price is almost identical.  If you do it this way, please email me, mccorm45(at)yahoo(dot)com, to let me know how many copies and in order to get my address for shipping.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

FINAL UPDATE:
Through your generosity, I have reached the goal of 30 copies of In Soft Garments for use in my high school apologetics class.  I cannot begin to express how appreciative I am to all of you who have contributed to this appeal.  So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you!  I hope to post in future weeks some images as the books come in.  By the way, In Soft Garments is a fantastic book, one which I highly recommend.  

If you were planning to contribute but haven't yet, I will certainly accept additional copies.  As a teacher, I appreciate having extra copies on hand if necessary.

Thank you!