Written before he became an eminent figure in the Church, Michael Novak's first novel, now with an introduction by Ralph McInerny, is an intriguing story about a young man preparing for the priesthood in Rome in the 1950?s. The Tiber Was Silver provides a unique view of the pre-conciliar Church through the eyes of a young seminarian.

This reprint of Michael Novak's first novel is the story of a young man preparing for priesthood in Rome and studying theology at the Gregorianum, and his struggles with whether he is truly called to the priesthood. It takes place in the 1950s, a time of the Hungarian Revolution, the launching of the Sputnik, when Kennedy succeeded Eisenhower, and when there were evident stirrings within the Church that would ultimately result in Vatican II.