ODDS & ENDS.

Idiot. Hardly a civil or courteous greeting. But attention getting, for sure. No doubt that s one reason t, he popular series The Complete Idiot s Guide to ...," published by Alpha Books of Macmillan, was so named. This series has already produced books on several hundred topics such as: astrology, cigars, angels, classical music, motorcycles, amazing sex, extraterrestrial intelligence, pro wrestling, Beanie Babies, betting on horses, Elvis, and motherhood.

Only an idiot would not have expected this series eventually to branch out into mainline religion. Nonetheless, when I found a copy of the newly published The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Catholicism staring at me during a recent visit to a bookstore, I was surprised. This miraculous 400-plus-page tome, written by Bob O'Gorman and Mary Faulkner, employs some unique approaches as it presents and unravels the many manners and mysteries of Catholicism.

This book is unlike either the traditional question-and-answer Baltimore Catechism or the contemporary, encyclopedic Catechism of the Catholic Church. Both these manuals presented Catholicism more as an unchanging moral monolith rather than a myriad of mores. Happily, the Idiot's Guide departs from these passe approaches.

This book explores and celebrates Catholicism's diversity by concentrating on the many and varied experiences of Catholics. Quick visits to an Irish Catholic wake, a Mexican Day of the Dead observance, an African American Mass, a rural Catholic parish, and the Taos Pueblo Catholic Church reflect the breadth and depth of the various and varied types of Catholic experiences and identities.

This book has some unusually entertaining and informative outcroppings within the text itself. The most striking feature, "S'ter Says," appears every few pages as an icon of everyone's favorite habited, finger-wagging, grammar school nun. "S'ter Says" defines a lot of Catholic lingo--from cloister 2 to crusades, from monstrance to modernism. Another icon, "Your Guardian Angel," contains gentle advice and direction for the practice of Catholicism. And "For Heaven's Sake" lists helpful information alerting readers to common misunderstandings about Catholicism.

In addition to these icons, two other features interact both with the text and the reader. "Epiphanies" offer interesting Catholic tidbits like the similarities and differences between the Nicene and the Apostles' creeds. "Saints Preserve Us" informs readers about a host of specific saints such as Clare, patron of television, and Christopher, patron of travelers.

Catholicism has always been an incredibly diverse religion, although it has not always been presented as such. Happily, with the publication of the admittedly oddly named but effectively constructed Complete Idiot's Guide, we now have a book that faithfully mirrors the many realities of this faith. Newcomers to Catholicism as well as lifers, curiosity seekers as well as lapsed Catholics, and many others will learn a lot and absorb a new appreciation for the Big Tent of Catholicism by reading this book.

Don't be an idiot and pass up this unique, contemporary presentation of Catholicism.