Pope John Paul II (Abridged): The Biography Audiobook

Quotes

• “As close an account as we are likely to have of the way a particular culture and era gave birth to this very Polish Pope.”

  — New York Times Book Review

• “Adds fresh details to the portrait of John Paul II…One feels through Szulc’s guidance as though one has met Wojtyla in the flesh.”

  — Washington Post Book World

• “Szulc’s long experience covering international affairs for the Times stands him in good stead when he writes of the Pope’s involvement in world affairs, especially in Eastern Europe. Not surprisingly, the sections of the book dealing with John Paul II the Pole and John Paul II the statesman are the books strongest.”

  — Tampa Tribune-Times

• “[A] thorough and intriguing biography.”

  — Dallas Morning News

• “Brimming with revelations…An extraordinarily candid portrait of the Polish pontiff and a timely look at the Church’s internal crisis.”

  — Publishers Weekly

• “Tad Szulc enjoyed unprecedented advantages. The Vatican gave him wide and exclusive access…Szulc can take credit for providing a wealth of invaluable detail.”

  — Boston Book Review

• “[A] well-written book that deserves, and no doubt will get, a wide readership…An accurate portrait of the direction taken by the largest religious organization in the world under the leadership of John Paul—and where it might go after he’s gone.”

  — Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

• “What is closest to Szulc’s heart—John Paul’s outreach to the Jewish people and the State of Israel—is a story he tells well. What Szulc knows from personal experience—the life of a small Polish city during the interwar years—he describes with sympathy and insight. What he can grasp as a man conversant with Polish literature—the special character of Wojtyla’s poetry and plays—he writes about sensibly.”

  — Seattle Weekly

• “The most useful biography that has yet appeared in English on the Pontiff’s background.”

  — New Yorker

• “Important and illuminating…The book’s chief claim has been in revealing heretofore unknown or underreported aspects of the Pope’s remarkable ascent and behind-the-scenes diplomacy…Still most readers, and especially Catholics, may find Szulc’s book more rewarding for showing how the Pope’s Polish roots and mystical beliefs help explain his positions on such divisive issues as birth control, women in the priesthood, and priestly celibacy…The author enjoyed extraordinary access to his countryman.”

  — Lexington Herald-Leader

• “Informative and illuminating…A coherent, balanced, and plausible story of the Pope’s ‘central role in helping to bring about the demise of communism.’”

  — America