His Holiness: Secret History of John Paul II: Amazon.ca: Carl Bernstein, Marco Politi: Books

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Two veteran reporters, American Carl Bernstein (co-author of All the President's Men) and Italian Marco Politi have teamed up to present the case that Pope John Paul II worked closely with American political figures to cause the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe. Their conclusions are controversial, but His Holiness provides an insightful look at the connections between governments, the Catholic Church and the Solidarity movement in the Pope's native Poland. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

An in-depth study of the papacy?what a leap of faith for a guy who helped break the Watergate story. Bernstein is joined by Italian journalist Politi, who has covered the papacy for 15 years.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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10 Reviews

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4.2 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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2.0 out of 5 stars Uneven coverage of a great man, Feb 2 2004

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Big Mike "Superior Text" (Ypsilanti, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: His Holiness (Hardcover)

I started off really liking this book. The coverage of the Pope's early life up until his ascencion to the throne was very interesting and pretty well-done. Once he got to the papacy, there were two significant problems. First of all, there were whole sections that dealt with the CIA and other government agencies and didn't talk about the Pope very much. More troubling was what the authors did to the story after the fall of communism. It was like a totally different book. The immediately began using words like "angry" and "snapped" and "reactionary" and "militant" to describe the Pope's stand on moral issues. After championing him as a her in the fight against communism, they made him seem like a grumpy old man who can't keep up with the times when he dared to take a firm stance against abortion or the ordination of women priests. I threw the book away when I was done. Be smarter than me and don't buy it in the beginning!

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4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Biographies, Oct 21 2003

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"jellybean_558" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: His Holiness (Mass Market Paperback)

I usually do not read many biographies, as they tend to be somewhat dry or either too skimpy or way too much. However, this one I really enjoyed. I highly recommend reading it for either a good biography or to learn more about Catholics and Pope John Paul II. The only, only thing I can find fault with is the ending. It seemed a bit cut off, and I almost wanted to find the words "The End" because I just didn't feel like it ended. But then again, I find my ears perk up whenever I hear about the pope, in a chance to learn more about Pope John Paul II, or simply Karol Wojtyla.

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5.0 out of 5 stars The best John Paul biography., Feb 27 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: His Holiness (Mass Market Paperback)

"His Holiness" stands as the best biography of Karol Wojtyla, later to become Pope John Paul II and the first Pope of the third millennium. His papacy has revolved around inceessant travel and an effort to re-establish orthodoxy in the Church through rigid supression of dissent led by Joseph Ratzinger.

This incessant travel has led John Paul to be seen as a mdeia superstar, and at the same time is strong doctrinal stance has led to him being seen by some as a restorationist and as a successor to Pius XII rather than John XXIII.

This book avoids many of the problems of other John Paul biographies. Bernstain and Politti write with more clarity than, say, Tad Szulc, and they do a very good job of explaining the contradictionas that really are to be seen in the Wojtyla papacy: the authoritarian church leader versus campaigns for justice in the wider world. Most aspects of Karol Wojtyla's life up to the time of the book's printing are described most effectively - such as the conclave and how Wojtyla came through against several Italian candidates.

This is the book to read to know John Paul II.

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
Best book I ever purchased. Well written and very informative.

Published on May 27 2002 by tkma5

5.0 out of 5 stars Reveals John Paul II as Deus Ex Machina in Foreign Affairs
"The roots of all he felt and did as pope, in terms of both Catholic dogma and geostrategic doctrine were to be found deep in the soil of his native Poland. Read more