Regular marked price: $19.95Discount Price: $14.96
Cost Savings: $4.99 (25%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 282.092
EAN num: 9780670030576
ISBN number: 0670030570
Label: Viking Adult
Manufacturer: Viking Adult
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 176
Printing Date: January 14, 2002
Publishing house: Viking Adult
Release Date: January 10, 2002
Sale Popularity Level: 365806
Studio: Viking Adult
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Acclaimed not only for its 'grace, skill and erudition,' (The Washington Post) but also for its warm, engaging narrative, Thomas Cahill's Hinges of History series humanized the history of both the Jewish and the Irish people. In Pope John XXIII, he combines his remarkable insight and knowledge to portray this legendary and beloved pontiff.
Pope John XXIII opens with a concise but sweeping history of the Catholic Church and the papacy, culminating in the brief but unforgettable reign of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli as Pope John XXIII, in the mid-twentieth century. At seventy-six years of age, neither an intellectual nor a highly trained theologian, he was at very first regarded as a transitional pope. During his reign, however, he awed the world with the seminal and unprecedented change he brought about in his concern for the fundamental plight of humankind.
In rich, impassioned prose, Cahill follows Roncalli's life from his peasant roots to his landmark Second Vatican Council, with its emphasis on worldwide social justice, which marked the beginning of a true shift in the Catholic Church and its relationship to the modern world. In a biography that will captivate Catholics and non-Catholics alike, Cahill's signature blend of interpretive insight and scholarship mirrors Pope John's own intuition, spontaneity, and all-embracing vision.
Amazon.com Review:
The punchy Penguin Lives series is the best thing to hit popular biography in some time, and Thomas Cahill is just the fun and erudite guy to Penguinize Pope John XXIII. He captures both the irresistible character of Angelo 'Little Angel' Giuseppe Roncalli, a peasant born in backwards Bergamo, and his place in world and church history. In fact, Cahill shows, as John XXIII, Angelo brought the church into the modern world in the 1960s, upsetting the poisoned apple cart of his nefarious predecessor, Pius X, whom Cahill convincingly likens to a Joe McCarthy with the private meanness of Nixon. John XXIII anticipated liberation theology by seven decades, reached out to Protestants and even non-Christians, and saved thousands of Jews from Hitler by wily machinations Cahill aptly compares to Paul's epistle to Philemon. (Cahill says it's unfair to brand Angelo's immediate predecessor, Pius XII, as Hitler's Pope--though he was a 'moral pygmy' subsequent to the giant John XXIII.) Cahill gives a quickie history of the Papacy that generations of cramming history students will thank God for, and includes just enough about Pope John's irreverent wit and way of life--the La Grenouille chef, the Jackie Kennedy friendship, the possibly apocryphal quip to a buxom woman wearing a crucifix ('What a Golgotha!'). An exemplary brief bio of an exemplary man. --Tim Appelo
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers 
-
If I could, I would not award any stars to this work.
Despite being called "Pope John XXIII A Life", this book is not a biography. It is, as the author states on pg. 239 (which is much too late to be helpful), a "biographical essay," which apparently means the author is at liberty to insert his own (sometimes lurid) suppositions among the facts he reports. He begins with an unfavorable review of the history of the papacy and doesn't get to John XXIII until page 73. He follows the pope's death with commentary on his successors, again, unfavorable. Other reviewers have commented on the bias the author reveals in his "essay" so no more about that.
What bothers me is how this book is packaged. It proves the adage that you cannot judge a book by it's cover, and the one about a wolf in sheep's clothing. I can't help but wonder at what the humble, truth-loving Pope John XXIII would say in response to this work.
For a biography of Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, Pope John XXIII, I recommend Patricia Treece's "Meet John XXIII"
Rated by buyers 
-
Before reading this book, I admired Cahill for his "Hinges of History" series. While he often shocked me with his obsession with detailed sexual rituals or practices, he seemed to weave a good pattern of history and narrative, making the books an enjoyable (and presumably beneficial) read.
However, about half way through this work, I began to doubt the accuracy of anything I had ever read by Cahill. His history of the papacy is anachronistic, ripped from its context, and overly biased (which is putting it nicely, a better description might be propaganda).
In Cahill's opinion, there have been about 5 good popes, but none can compare to John XXIII. He goes to great lengths to point out the evils and flaws in even the best popes. When he comes to Paul XXIII, however, even his flaws are praised. When another pope acts in a way that offends Cahill's sense of what a pope ought to be, he is evil, misguided or vindictive. When John XXIII fails, he is just showing us his brokenness and reminding us that he is just a human.
He applies this method when speaking of other clergy. When a conservative makes an appearance in the narrative, he is always evil, conniving, angry, divisive, etc (you can almost hear the music change in your head). I cannot call to mind one conservative opinion or decision Cahill praises in the book. However, anyone leaning to the left (Liberation Theologians, Liberal Theologians, Feminist thinkers, etc) comes on the scene, they are forward thinking, working in the true spirit of the Church, thoughtful, following Jesus, etc. Even when "liberal" characters do something duplicitous (e.g. when John goes on for hours so as to lull the conservative bishops before announcing his controversial council) they are praised as wise.
If John XXIII was such a great man (and hear me clearly on this, I think he was, I too wish more Christians were like him) why does Cahill need to paint all other popes with such a dark brush? I can only wonder if this book is more a diatribe against the conservatives in the Church than a biography of John XXIII. In all honesty, I think John XXIII deserves better (and, if Cahill is right about him, would never have written or read a book like this which so demonizes everyone he disagreed with).
Finally, Cahill often refers to 'hunches' he has or tells stories he admits are 'unverifiable.' That is not history, that's editorial.
It will take a lot for me to pick up another Cahill book.
Rated by buyers -
Liberals: good. Conservatives:bad. John XXIII: a saint.
Sadly, that's pretty much a synopsis of this book.
Rated by buyers -
Someone needs to notify the Holy Office (and Penguin) of this unfortunate publication.
Not only is "Pope John XXIII" unfair and poorly documented, but Cahill's portrayal of the Church in Rome from Peter to Pope John Paul II is the most blatant anti-Catholic drivel one could possibly come across. The author is rude, crude and writes in an overly antagonistic tone. He spends little space talking about Bl. Pope John, but rather finds it necessary to rip to pieces the Papacy past and present.
I found this work painful to read, not because of any truth contained therein, but because of the sheer magnitude of immaturity Cahill's literary posture exudes. What was most irritating was the treatment of H.H. Pius IX, and following, Cahill's criticism of Karol Wojtyla as priest and bishop, and then as Pope. His childish criticism of the latter's work, 'Love and Responsibility' (which I recommend to all as it is a tremendous achievement) is the best demonstration of this author's thoughtlessness, ignorance and unbridled prejudice.
The author claims to be Catholic -- but this is obviously deception. Thomas Cahill is no son of the Church, and writes with every anti-Catholic bias. Those who think favorably of this book can only be understood to share in the same depravity, and possible fate.
Rated by buyers 
-
The very first fifty or so pages of this biography gives the reader a great summation of the history of the papacy, and, as usual, Cahill pulls no punches. The biography of Angelo Roncalli, however, was just as satisfying as the the summary. I liked this book so much I have sent copies to family members and friends. I'm probably a bit biased as I read and enjoy Cahill's writing and frank use of language. The size of the book makes it easy to read and re-read.
Find other books like this one:
