Book Review: Those Who Saw Her

I recently finished reading the updated and revised edition of Catherine M. Odell's Those Who Saw Her.  The book is about the apparitions of Mary and the visionaries who saw her.  I found the book to be rather interesting.  There were many apparitions that I had heard of, but there were several that I didn't know about.  For the apparitions that I did know about, this book offered information about the apparitions that I never knew.  So all around, I found this to be not only an enjoyable, but an informative book.  Odell's writing style will pull you in and keep you wanting to read more.  In fact, when I got to the end of this book I was a bit disappointed that there wasn't anything left to read.

The book starts off with three chapters that explain who Mary is, why she comes and how the church goes about approving the apparitions.  The remaining 15 chapters of this book cover the apparitions or the alleged apparitions (Medjugorje) of the Blessed Mother between the dates of 1531 to present.  The author gives a nice overview of each of the apparitions (or alleged apparitions).  It's enough to give you the highlight reel of each apparition.  I'd say these chapters are simply highlight reels because there have been books written that are devoted entirely to apparitions at a single site.

I really enjoyed this book and I suspect anyone with a Marian devotion or an interest in Marian apparitions will find this book equally enjoyable.  For those who aren't really sure what all the fuss is about over Marian apparitions, this book would be a great jumping off point for them to gain a better understanding.

For more information on Those Who Saw Her, Revised visit The Catholic Company.  As a reviewer for The Catholic Company's Catholic Book Reviewer program I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.