- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Doubleday Religion; New title edition (July 13 2004)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0385509669
- ISBN-13: 978-0385509664
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 680 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #367,182 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Allen, the Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter and analyst for CNN and National Public Radio, offers an authoritative guide to the church's inner workings. Far from sensationalistic, this book provides a carefully balanced view of how the Catholic Church works—and sometimes doesn't—in the modern world. Allen, who is Catholic himself but does not see himself as a missionary or apologist for the church, is a fair and thorough reporter of ecclesial affairs who drew on four-plus years of covering the Vatican as well as 35 interviews with officials in the church bureaucracy to write this book. He begins with an overview of the Vatican, then debunks five myths—including, notably, the idea that power is concentrated solely in the Pope and that the Vatican is fantastically wealthy. In talking about the myth and reality of Vatican secrecy, Allen lays out the basis for his book: that the Vatican's psychology and culture are difficult for people, even most Catholics, to grasp, resulting in miscommunication and animosity toward the church. Allen also delves into Vatican psychology, sociology and theology before concluding with lengthy chronologies detailing the Vatican's role in the American sexual abuse crisis and the war in Iraq.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
Praise for John L. Allen, Jr.’s Conclave:
“An invaluable primer…highly informative.” -- Washington Post
“Definitely a winner.” --Minneapolis Star Tribune
“It’s surprising how much you learn from this book…[Allen] explain[s] the process in an engaging way, and offers history, context, and his own list of front-runners.” --Arizona Republic
“Conclave offers something for everyone. Insiders who are knowledgeable about Vatican politics will relish the detail that Allen…delves into when describing the process and the personalities that will elect the next pope. Those who are baffled by the arcane traditions of Roman Catholicism will understand better how this ancient institution functions. The curious will have a context within which to understand why the cardinals choose a pope with a certain theological and political bent.” --National Catholic Reporter
“An invaluable primer…highly informative.” -- Washington Post
“Definitely a winner.” --Minneapolis Star Tribune
“It’s surprising how much you learn from this book…[Allen] explain[s] the process in an engaging way, and offers history, context, and his own list of front-runners.” --Arizona Republic
“Conclave offers something for everyone. Insiders who are knowledgeable about Vatican politics will relish the detail that Allen…delves into when describing the process and the personalities that will elect the next pope. Those who are baffled by the arcane traditions of Roman Catholicism will understand better how this ancient institution functions. The curious will have a context within which to understand why the cardinals choose a pope with a certain theological and political bent.” --National Catholic Reporter
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
If you mill about St. Peter's Square long enough, you will eventually see a black Mercedes sedan exiting from the Vatican, bearing a cardinal or a gentleman of His Holiness to some important engagement. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
If you mill about St. Peter's Square long enough, you will eventually see a black Mercedes sedan exiting from the Vatican, bearing a cardinal or a gentleman of His Holiness to some important engagement. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best book in its class for understanding the way the Vatican works,
By Father Thomas Dowd "adventus.org" (Montreal, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)
This review is from: All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks (Paperback)
There is nothing like reading a book and realising that there is no other book like it out there. Of course, it helps when it is a particularly good book - and given that poor books tend to have a drab similarity to each other, the good books tend to stand out as unique in some way. I am pleased to report that All the Pope's Men is exceptional in exactly this way.First, a comment regarding content: Allen's volume is subtitled "the inside story of how the Vatican really thinks". I have never worked at the Vatican, so I cannot say with 100% certainty that the text is accurate. That being said, I have visited the Vatican, I know people who work at the Vatican, and I live with a Cardinal who is part of various Vatican congregations and councils. On top of that, I work in the diocesan curia for Montreal - meaning that there are elements of a certain mentality that I understand. I can honestly say that as I read this text, there were "moments of recognition" over and over again. Once more, I cannot say with 100% certainty that the book is accurate - but my goodness, it sure feels that way. The first 5 chapters of the text are the most significant. They cover an introduction to the Vatican's structure, questions of Vatican and psychology and sociology, the theological background to the ways of the Vatican, and a "top 5" series of myths about the Vatican. All in all, fascinating. The last two chapters cover the Vatican response to the American sexual abuse crisis, as well as the war in Iraq. These chapters are important for an understanding of these issues, although this importance will fade as these issues fade as well. Still, given the focus on providing primary source material, even those wanting to do a historical study of these moments of history will find these chapters invaluable. I don't know what else to write. Anyone wanting an in-depth understanding of either the Vatican or the Vatican's handling of these two issues will find this book to be essential.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Bob Woodward of the Vatican,
By Leonard Hartmann (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
This review is from: All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks (Hardcover)
Maybe John Allen doesn't quite have the dramatic flair that Woodward has for the midnight, behind closed door scenes (like Nixon asking Kissinger to pray with him), but Allen's information is just as interesting and reliable, and the writing is pretty good too. And unlike most of the people you have writing about the Vatican Allen really does seem to walk a straight line in terms of the politics. A reviewer has commented that the even-handedness has bothered him/her, but nothing bothers me more than partisan reporting through rose coloured glass or the pessimism of a disaffected church goer. All the Pope's Men isn't much of a whodunnit but it is a very interesting examination of the psychology and the workings of the Vatican. It is a bureaucracy, of sorts, but I found it's workings fascinating nonetheless.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting, a good read.,
By B. Galston-Herbert (Arlington, Virginia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: All the Pope's Men: The Inside Story of How the Vatican Really Thinks (Hardcover)
John Allen has always impressed me with his newspaper writing and whenever I've heard him on National Public Radio. I was happy to have come across this book here and found it a very fresh perspective on the world inside the Vatican. As those of you who read these types of books will know, there are many, many books on the topic out there and I gather that half of those that are written are merely quoting from the other half. Put this one in the TO BE QUOTED FROM PILE. It's original material, I particularly like his Myths about the Vatican section. Thank you John Allen.
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