Rating: 
Summary: I was Disappointed
Review: I purchased this book anticipating spiritual inspiration. To the contary I felt that this was naive, tedious & shallow. The hype for this book on the "Imus in the Morning" radio program was thoroughly deceptive.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Expectations Sadly Diminished
Review: I sent for this book the day I read the NY Times review which was a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10. As a male Catholic a few years younger than the author I was drawn to it for many reasons. As one who does not typically read books about guys like "Morrie", I was intrigued by the Times reviewer's perspective on how this book could touch those that had become distant from the church but were still looking for a guiding light. My problem with the book is that the writing is stilted, the author can't seem to stop trying to dazzle the reader with series of thesaurus driven adjectives and finally, I found I did not like the author. There is no doubt that Father Joe was a special man to many and someone I would love to have met. Its too bad he had to spend so much time with someone who is so self-pitying and mean spirited that it took him 40 years to finally get what Father Joe was saying - hey Tony, you're the problem! The author could have had that figured out for him after a couple of sessions with a shrink or possibly listening to all the people he alienated over the years. There are parts of the book that are excellent - basically the beginning where he first meets Father Joe and the end where he takes his sons to meet him after the "I'm the problem light bulb" goes on. Most of what's in the middle (basically the authors life) is not very interesting unless you enjoy reading about a narcissist.
Rating: 
Summary: Story of soul-searching while coming to terms with oneself.
Review: Still, Tony wasn't ready to take good over evil. He continued life, going though a tumble into substance abuse, hollow satisfaction as head writer of National Lampoon, and a failed marriage. All along, he struggles with himself as he attempts to find the true meaning of life. The shadow that Father Joe had cast over him in his youth will not let his soul conform to the materialist satisfaction of the world. Eventually, he comes to terms with what Father Joe had attempted to explain to that rebellious teenager so many years earlier and continued to patiently tell him through the years. In the end, Hendra deserts his self-hating ways, as is the case with the ideal stories. Tony eventually finds good over evil and embraces the ways that Father Joe unwearyingly showed him for many years. The story is about Hendra and Father Joe, but has a hidden reflection on those readers that go through the same private internal war of their own. A well-written book that will do more than just inform and entertain; it will guide you if you let it. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: poor Father Joe, turning in his grave
Review: The only worthwhile portion of this book is the hopefully faithful realization of Father Joe himself. Unfortunately, most of the book involves the spiritual "progress" of the author, and he is, completely apart from lurid stories of his personal life, quite an unpleasant person--still. Jesus died for all our sins and mankind took at least a few steps forward. Poor Father Joe died for Tony Hendra, and Tony remains selfish, egotistical, vitriolic, opinionated, and smug.
I knew nothing about the controversy surrounding this author when I began the book. It was a Christmas present from my sister, presumably because my sons attended an excellent Benedictine school in the Washington, D.C. area and I have known my own share of saintly men in black. I began the book with enthusiasm which waned steadily through the course of the story until, about a chapter from the end, I laid it aside. It was clear that Father Joe was going to die and Tony Hendra was going to live, and I was not willing to close the file on that state of affairs. When my husband asked why I had not finished the book, I replied that I found the writer so unlikable that it was becoming painful to read. "You're not the only one," my husband remarked vaguely, at which point I read a few reviews.
But to object to Mr. Hendra and this book because of personal accusations brought by an unhappy daughter is like objecting to Bill Clinton because of Monica or George W. Bush because of alcohol. Mr. Hendra unwittingly bares much more than I fear he meant to in this memoir. Yes, he was a wild and crazy guy of the Sixties, guilty of the deadly sins of excess (lust, greed, sloth) that got those Renaissance Italian party guys consigned to the higher, more pleasant realms of Dante's Inferno. And no, Hendra assures us, he's not like that no more. Why should he and how could he be? He's 60-something years old and if he tried, he'd die.
In fact, the sins of which he is most guilty, and to which he fails to confess directly, are the sins of constriction that were never popular in the crazy 60's, and that Dante really didn't like--avarice, pride, envy, anger. Hendra is so unrelentingly harsh to everyone in his environment--parents, "colleagues" (competitors), Republicans, friends, monks other than Father Joe, America in general, Stephen Hawking (a "homunculus"), his wives, capitalism, communism, the organized Church--that it became exhausting after a while to deal with his anger--maybe the anger was the fuel for his humor, but here he's not funny and he can't seem to release the anger. His kindest words about anyone other than Father Joe are for himself and how he tried not to be too smart, too funny, too committed, too knowing. He puts forth metaphysical conclusions that are pretty much the stuff of an average lunchtime discussion among kids at a decent parochial high school as if they were received wisdom. The only source I recall him quoting about a religion with 2000 years of written commentary is Meister Eckhart, and it's some silly rag-tag 60's stuff about love and laughter, tra la, tra la. Apparently there are very few ideas Mr. Hendra cares about that are not his own.
I would like to speak to him through this review. Tony, I would say to him, for half a century you let Father Joe do your work for you. It's time now that you join the world of adults. Think before you speak. Realize that we're all fallible. Remember that while good and evil exist, they are concepts, not people--there is no "evil" personage, not even Hitler--we all commit evil deeds now and then, some more than others. Most of all, be charitable. Father Joe found it in his heart to love as unlovable person as you. I think I know a secret about him: he was not trying to be your personal spiritual confessor or theology teacher, he was trying to be your model. Follow it. Give those around you a break. Love 'em cause they're as rotten as you are.
By the way, for anyone who actually did find this book uplifting, I would suggest either reading Thomas Merton or acquiring literature from the Benedictines themselves. There are monasteries all over the country (though, alas, fewer and fewer) and many can be accessed by e-mail.
Rating: 
Summary: Little of the spirit here
Review: This book contains little about Father Joe and even less about spirituality. It never explains how Hendra's soul was saved -- if, indeed, it ever was. Hendra himself seems still very much a "scoffer and worldling" (in C.S. Lewis' Screwtape's words) at the end of the story. Thus Hendra unintentionally offers a warning about his own incurable worldliness. For spiritual sustenance, do look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: a very important book
Review: This book is wonderful. First, it's a compelling read; don't be put off by the earlier review here that says it forces recourse to the dictionary--I found nothing of the sort, and any editorial dumbing down of Hendra's zesty style would have been disastrous; second, it is very funny. But most important: Father Joe is rendered so brilliantly, so tenderly, that just reading about him could change the reader's life as knowing him changed Hendra's. I see why Andrew Sullivan begged us to read this book in his NYT review; and I agree with him that the subsequent furore about Hendra's relationship with his daughter has no bearing on the wonder of the book itself. You laugh, and then suddenly you find yourself about to cry: you aren't sure why--is it because Father Joe is what we all yearn for even in our cynical times? a person who is really in touch with that Other we call the divine; a guide, a mentor, someone we can really trust. Other reviewers here stopped reading before the end, because of a dislike for Hendra himself. That's a shame because I think the end is excellent. And of course we dislike Hendra, or at least some of his behaviour! He means us to, his whole point is how far off the rails he went, how far astray his life had gone, despite his wordly success. I agree that the subtitle, The Man who Saved my Soul, is too much; but Father Joe does recall Hendra to himself, help him see what matters, and save his second marriage. I think the book is the more convincing because written by a human being as flawed as most of us. It's detailed and particular and yet touches somtething universal: the desire for goodness, goodness with a sense of humor and without posing and piousness. To recreate such a rare and intangible thing on the page is a colossal achievement.
Rating:
Summary: Another Book Club Speaks
Review: This is a fantastically written,honest and emotional with so much wisdom to leanr from. My club thoroughly enjoyed this book. Father Joe: The Man Who Saved MY Soul is simply put an excellent book for all to read. It rates up there in my eyes with other great books that my club has had the privellege of reading lately, namely: Nightmares Echo (Katlyn Stewart),My Fractured Life (Rikki Lee Travolta),The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom),I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou) All great book club suggestions to read!
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant !!!!!!
Review: This is simply a brilliant book. I was reading this book on long flight and the time simply passed away. This is an extremely thought provoking book. Tony Hendra shines above all through this brilliant masterpiece and his language is a gift for all of us to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Survival and Growth
Review: We watch a rebellious teenager grow into the man who can finally understand the wisdom of mentor Father Joe. Hendra encounters more than your typical growing pains as he battles addictions and falls victim to the temptations of a life in the public eye, in similar fashion to Rikki Lee Travolta's My Fractured Life. And, he not only survives but survives to become a better man - a wiser man. It is inspiring.
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