Pope John Paul II

I have now read 2 books on this Pope and it is amazing how he handled pressures, pain, criticism, and most importantly, the People. Great Pope...great stories - some of which we never heard (more than 1 assassination attempt) and his love and devotion to God is clearly evident in the way he handled himself.

I first read this book many years ago on retreat. I recently re-read it and it was as captivating and interesting now and then. Tad Szulc offers a compelling and moving picture of John Paul II, his life and ministry. This biography is imminently readable, interesting, engaging and dynamic, much like his subject. Reading this biography, one comes to know John Paul II, not as a Pope, or a hero of the faith, not as the man who helped bring down Communism in Europe, not as the revered saint. One comes to know John Paul II, the pastor, the teacher, the man.

Very pleased with the book and CD's.

Tad Szulc has written an excellent account of the life and contributions of Pope John Paul ll. Much more detailed than other biographys I have read of John Paul II.

This book is an excellent resource for anyone interested in the life of one of the greatest and most influential popes ever, John Paul II. Through the author's exceptional work, we get to know the man who became John Paul II, and relive his early heartbreaks and triumphs. From Nazi occupied Poland to the modern day Vatican, all significant events are detailed and discussed. This is a biography to be reread time and again.

It's one of the many ironies of "Pope John Paul II: The Biography" that the most revealing views we get of the man who would exemplify Catholicism for better and worse, not to mention the cause of peace, comes from an atheist military leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski. It was 1983, and Poland was under martial law. General Jaruzelski as premier was dealing with a nation in turmoil, caught between a rebelling populace and an uneasy Soviet Union, then the de facto boss of Eastern Europe and unhappy with Jaruzelski's unwillingness to take a stronger hand. Enter John Paul II, a Pole himself and the first Slavic pope, who became a partner for a peaceful resolution to the problem that would ultimately lead to Poland's freedom. "General, please do not feel insulted, but I have nothing against socialism," Jaruzelski would later recall the pontiff saying. "I just want socialism to have a human face." The humanity of John Paul II comes across often in this 1995 biography, even if the personality seems elusive. Author Tad Szulc points out the reclusive nature of John Paul II's character, and hints at what drives it. Yet even an interview with the Pope does little to help create what might have been a definitive portrait. Another mark against this book might be the heavy concentration on the Polish side of John Paul II's papacy - except it's by far the best thing in the book. Get past the opening of the book, detailing the intertwined history of Poland and the Church in somewhat precious detail, and you find a fascinating story of how John Paul created a model for peaceful political transition from autocracy to democracy. Szulc uses secret Polish and Russian files to show how it was done, with Jaruzelski's own account filling in the holes. Yes, Szulc may give Jaruzelski a bit too much credit, but the cagey general does seem more credible than you might expect. The knock on John Paul II from this remove, more than five years after his death, was his was a papacy of diminishing returns. Though it bills itself as "The Biography", Szulc's book was published with John Paul's reign still having ten years to run, sad years for the most part marked by the worldwide child-abuse scandal and the pope's obvious infirmity. Here you get only a brief mention of priests and pedophilia. Szulc focuses instead on John Paul II's furious resistance to birth control, abortion, and women priests, as well as his tireless fight for preserving human rights and against what he called "radical capitalism." "The recurrent theme in all the discussion of John Paul II's pontificate is the perceived contradiction within the Church between his theological conservatism and his firm commitment to progressive policies of social justice," is how Szulc sums it up near the end. Szulc writes from an unabashedly liberal perspective, and after an docile start, takes pains to point out where the pontiff may have been less than infallible, such as by supporting the conservative lay organization Opus Dei and pushing a more authoritarian vision of the papacy than his most immediate predecessors. Szulc even criticizes John Paul II's handling of the Liberation Theology movement, a quasi-Marxist cause centered in Latin America that advocated political overthrow to achieve social justice. Yet John Paul II's disdain of such revolutionary tactics seem of a piece with his support of moderation in seeking Polish liberation, of which Szulc approves. I sense Szulc wasn't in the best of health when he completed this, his last book, just a few years before his death, which preceded that of the pope. At times, especially at the beginning, there is a markedly plodding quality to his prose. But stick with it, and you will be rewarded with a vibrant exegesis regarding one of the most unique and awe-inspiring figures of our age.

Learn insightful stories not found in other related books. Pope John Paul II - The Biography by Tad Szulc, is no ordinary piece of work. Written by no ordinary man, Szulc beautifully shows how important this man, Pope John Paul II, is to world politics in this millenium and for the next millenium. An Excellent Choice and Must Read!

First a warning: I advice you to skip the very first part of the book, in which is the author tries to give the reader a feeling on the Polish background of the pope. It's unbalanced, emotional, somewhat chaotic, and very little to the point. I almost stopped reading the book because of this. But when you start reading where the chronological description of the pope's life starts, you'll find a thorough biography, without exaltation, and not without some critical points of view. The first half of the book deals with the years before Karol became pope, and show how he was trained, coached, and grew as a actor, priest, play write, bishop, mystic poet and cardinal, in the often hard conditions in Poland. The second half deals with his policies as pope. Here is also a special focus on the Polish situation and how the pope exercised influence there. The book helps understanding the motivations of John Paul, even though one doesn't have to agree with him on all accounts. An interesting, insightful book.