Rating: 
Summary: Catholics will hate this; historians will relate
Review: No doubt that the Catholic community around the world will scorn this book but as a teacher of European history, it all comes together. The Vatican is and has always been a political entity regardless of its claims to the contrary. According to canon law, the Catholic church places itself above ALL other forms of authority, including governments. How convenient for Eugenio Pacelli, like all the popes before him, to declare himself the Supreme Power on earth and then back down on these claims when he is called upon to save the Jews in World War II Europe. Cornwell exposes the realities in the heavily censored world of the Vatican City. Pacelli was a politician who was not humble in his travels or his communications with his inferiors; that is, everyone. As evidenced by several other historians, The Holy See hides under the veil of religion when hiding from actually making the world a better place. Cornwall writes eloquently and describes the details of the atrocities of the papacy. Catholicism is the world's oldest monarchy. Cornwall is not a heretic whose sole ambition is to cast scorn upon the Church; he accurately chronicles the series of events. Cornwall does not claim that Jesus meant for a pope to even exist. Catholism is not at fault, according to Cornwall, rather it was the administration, the opportunistic bureaucracy. An educational, insightful book which I would reccomend to anyone interested in the true story.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly done
Review: Those who recieve this book as a piece of research need to read other works to gain other view points of the situation. If you believe what ever you read it would be a shame to read this book at all. The author's lack of objectivity is just one of the flaws with this work. It comes across as the grocery store tabloid of the man's life and work. Sensationalistic, poorly written, fabrication and pictures to mislead the reader (cover photo). It would embarass any serious scholarly researcher, though Cromwell is no doubt pleased with the sale of the book as are the editors of the tabloids by the candy bars at the checkout counter.
Rating:
Summary: Lies and More Lies
Review: This book was written by a man with an axe to grind with the Catholic Church. He is not a practicing Catholic, as he misled his readers to believe. He has been openly hostile to the Church in the past, which you would know if you read other works by this man. I have studied this part of history extensively, and I know that there are far batter sources that demonstrate just how far Cornwell has gone in mangling the truth. Familiarize yourselves with the facts before you give this book anything other than a one-star review. The more you read on this subject, the better you will recognize just what nonsense this book is.
Rating: 
Summary: Socrates would be upset with Cornwell
Review: I gave this book 5 stars because it deserved one. This book would rate Pope Pius XII a zero yet he deserves much more. This book is very one-sided, and the intent of the author is very unscholarly and even unethical. The author failed to include in his book any statements from Jews themselves who were overjoyed by being aided and even saved do to the actions of the Pope. It failed to discuss the possibility of Hitler capturing and murdering Catholics throughout Europe if Pius XII would have handled the situation otherwise. He fails to discuss the fact that the Vatican has no military forces and was surrounded by Fascist Italy, an ally to Hitler's Germany. It failed to discuss how Pius XII homed Jews in his own home, and many other places. This book provides some truths, but not the whole truth, and the title shows how unscholarly and unethical Cornwell must be. I don't discourage anyone from reading it, but be aware that it is full of what ifs, overgeneralizations, Catholic prejudices, and manipulations. It lacks research from a variety of perspectives. If you do read this, don't be afraid to read texts from different perspectives than Cornwell.
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating and Very Human Look At Pope Pius XII
Review: Although the title may be somewhat sensational and a bit misleading, this is an absorbing and disturbing book that ultimately questions the degree to which Pope Pius XII suffered from a number of worldly ambitions and perceptions that actively interfered with his prosecution of the Lord's work during the beginning of his own papacy during World War Two. I personally found it fascinating to read about the pre-papal life of a man who obviously was ambitious, extremely intelligent and almost pathologically focused on his own career contribution to the Catholic Church. For those of us non-Catholics so impressed and convinced by the holy examples and lifelong dedication of the current pope, it is hard to recall or understand the degree to which the papacy has been the locus of historical intrigue and ecumenical politics. This book does so impressively.After all, the Catholic Church is one of the most durable and influential political institutions of the last two millennia, so it shouldn't be hard to appreciate the degree to which its influence and resources make it an institution to be reckoned with. Like any such institution, it takes considerable political finesse to steer its way into the long-distance future, and this takes politically savvy and worldly men with an ability to operate and interact successfully with the powers that be in the world outside the walls of the Vatican. Although never so framed, the real question the author asks is if such men so disposed make good religious leaders as well. Certainly, the devastating account detailed here of the ecclesiastical and then papal career of Eugenio Pacelli (1876-1958), who became Pope Pius XII in 1939, offers the reader ample proof that the kind of man who excels at papal intrigue in service of papal objectives beyond the sacred confines of Vatican City does so at the risk of his mortal soul. To be more specific, in his congress with the emerging evil of fascism in Italy and with Germany's National Socialism, Pacelli the strategist, church official, Arch-Bishop, and Cardinal seems to lose sight of his own humanity by way of his service and almost fanatical dedication to the policies of Church. From his involvement in the early 1920s with the notion of papal absolutism, Pacelli consistently makes the correct politically expedient compromises with worldly agencies and governments in service to the progress and acceptance of this papal doctrine. The future pope seems to become so exclusively ensnared in the dictates of the long-term political needs of the Church that he conveniently ignores and neglects the fine details in this growing trail of diabolical compromises with a series of devils. As one reads this, the picture progressively painted of the future Pope Pius XII is not that of an evil or mendacious man, but rather an altogether too empathetic, fatally flawed, and human one, reminding us that even Christ's Vicar on earth must deal on a personal level with the devils in his life. It is saddening to learn of his growing tendencies to collaborate and compromise with the Fascists and Nazis, & how his own views of the Catholic Church's role weakened the Church's moral role & voice for reason and tolerance during the Holocaust. Yet it is hard to interpret Pacelli's acts in the 1930s and his deafening silence and virtual abdication of any substantive moral role as Pope Pius XII in any alternative way. The Church remained curiously silent about the early excesses of Hitler & the Nazis, and in doing so neglected the use of the moral voice of the Church both within & without Germany to stem the tide the Nazis then rode to a tragic conclusion. It is one of the ironies of history that such should be the case, and that recognizing & admitting should taken fifty years. This is an intriguing, important, & thoughtfully written book, & one I personally appreciated having an opportunity to read.
Rating:
Summary: Papal Sin
Review: For all of the naysayers to the criticism of Pope Pius XII in John Cornwell's book, please take a look at Gary Wills' "Papal Sin: Structure of Deceit", pages 64-69 in particular, dealing with this subject matter. Wills' criticism of Pope Pius XII is not as unrelenting as that of Cornwell's, but it should make even the most ardent supporters of Pope Pius XII pause to reconsider whether or not he was "silent" on the Holocaust.
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Summary: At the time, The New York Times said Pius was the greatest
Review: It is wrong to go around intolerantly bashing people's religions, even though it may be chic to attack the Roman Catholic Church. This book is a falsehood from its very cover photo, which shows Pacelli exiting a building with a German soldier saluting but fails to mention that the photo was taken during the Weimar Republic when Germany was a democracy and long before Hitler came to power. But the real, irrefutable proof that vindicates Pope Pius XII was that he was led to believe by the New York Times (a courageous paper famous at the time for its hatred of the Nazis and Hitler) that he was doing a great job. Not once but twice--TWICE ! --the New York Times published lead editorials on Christmas Day (1941 and again in 1942) praising Pope Pius XII, calling him the only courageous man in continental Europe, and the only one who was willing to stand up to Hitler to protect the religious rights of all people. Now, surely the Vatican was aware of these editorials from the New York Times. These editorials were published at the height of Hitler's power. Hence, Pius was led to believe that his message was indeed getting across to the world, that his "anti-Hitlerism" (as The New York Times put it) was being clearly understood. Moreover, Pius was led to believe that the Americans, as evidenced by their premier newspaper--The New York Times--agreed with the way he was handling matters and were encouraging him to keep doing exactly what he was doing. So how is it possibly fair, 60 years later, to say that the Pope did not do enough when back during the war years everyone in America was telling the Pope that he was doing exactly the right thing? If the Pope should have been doing more, then why did not the New York Times exhort him to do more? On the contrary, the New York Times praised the Pope at the time for handling the situation in exactly the appropriate manner. The New York Times was wildly happy with the way the Pope was handling his papacy. And the New York Times issued this praise not once but twice--TWICE ! -- during the very height of Hitler's power. Under these facts, it is impossible to fault Pope Pius. He rescued the Jews of Rome, hiding them inside the Vatican itself. His statements at the time were clearly understood: that he denounced the Nazis--as evidenced by the New York Times editorials. Indeed, at no time during his life did anyone ever even suggest that Pius had not done enough. The Jews of Italy, in particular, have long viewed him as their salvation. It's like a student getting A's on all his exams and then 60 years later getting his final grade changed to an "F" ---if he was failing, why didn't anyone at the time tell him so? On the contrary, everyone in the U.S. told Pope Pius that he was acting heroically. Twice the New York Times said exactly that, in lead editorials in 1941 and 1942. But it is socially acceptable to attack the Catholic Church and there are always those who are willing to make a fast buck attacking religion.
Rating:
Summary: Garbage disguised as history.
Review: After reading Cornwell's Hitler's Pope, I decided to do some further reading about Pius XII. From the New York Times, to Time, to Life magazine there were a number of contradictions. Life's photo documentary of Pius' funeral clearly showed Cornwell's disgusting description of the condition of the Pope's body at the time of his funeral to be a lie. Another issue of Life showed the original photo used on the dust jacket and how it had been "doctored" to support the scandelous title. I would recommend you read the last chapter first. It will clearly demonstrate Cornwell's primary agenda and that was to engage in rant about the hierarchy of the church and Pope John Paul II. He just uses Pius XII as a means to that end. This is, to quote several other reviewers, "tabloid journalism masquerading as a scholarly work".
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Summary: Scandal Sells
Review: I was fascinated by this book and went on to do some more digging. I found so much material contrary to Cornwell's account that I keep asking myself why an historian would go to such efforts to smear a man who, it seems, saved so many lives. I can only assume that marketing considerations determined the tone of this book. A few quotes: "When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the Pope was raised for it's victims." Golda Meir "He (Pope Pius)is the only ruler left on the continent of Europe who dares raise his voice at all." New York Times editorial Dec. 25, 1942 "Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler's campaign." Albert Einstein (Time magazine 1944) It is a "regretable irony that the one person in all of occupied Europe who did more than anyone else to halt the dreadful crime...is today made the scapegoat for the failures of others." Jeno Levai (Jewish historian specializing in the Holocaust in Hungary) "The Catholic Church under Pius XII was instumental in saving the lives of as many as 860,000 Jews" Pinchas Lapide (Israeli diplomat)
Rating: 
Summary: Vocabulary gets in the way
Review: This book is full of very interesting information, but the sentencing and the wording can get a reader very tangled up. The foreign names and various other words are necessary to the work and are enough to deal with. Unfortunately the author chooses to explain facts in such complicated and mind boggling long sentences that the reader must struggle through the rhetoric. Tends to "water down" the impact. I also found myself completely disgusted with my church (I am a Catholic) and enraged by the negative and selfish motives of this Pontiff. It shakes up our belief in the motives of Peter's successors!
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