It made the Cannon where as the books of the Maccabees did not. This being in a time much closer to the events described. In a world of Higher Criticism our understanding of these texts can lead to the loss of faith or an increase of it.
As a document of history, the Bible has been slowly proving more accurate than not which is kind of shocking, except that folks don't allow that the people who compiled its text had records and writings to base their work from.
Its popular to dismiss this greatest of works for the fact we can find human finger prints on it. This is a great error. This text brings information and instruction out of time that the bibles compilers were extraordinarily careful about preserving even when they couldn't understand it. This has made sections of the document confusing and difficult, but in the end wondrously instructive. Rabbi's and sages have noted this "out-of-time" nature to these texts which is partially due to the narrative being written in present tense hundreds of years after the actual events.
The Book Deuteronomy being the most powerful example of this. It may be the key book of the whole Bible and yet it was most probably written at the very end of the First Temple period. Without it, Judaism and very probably Christianity would never have occurred. In fact, one theory is that with its completion and the accumulation of the texts of the history of the Kings and Prophets the work of the first Temple was completed paving the way for its Destruction.
The book of Ester has been kept just like the Book of Job because it has message and meaning that justifies its inclusion. This choice has been made over and over and it has made the cut through the ages so its inclusion has been deemed intensely important.
I believe that the Books of the Maccabees are in the Catholic Bible.