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Rating: 
Summary: A journalist helps set the record straight about the pope.
Review: I appreciated the will researched and informative narrative about the pope, but found the book to be overly long and dry. I am Catholic, and knew very little about our pope. Now I know much more. However, I have 4 problems with the book. First of all, it seems that, although Mr. Kwitncy wrote 678 pages on the pope, John Paul II is a mystery to him. He says so many times in his book, and it comes across. I now know many facts about the pope. I know about events that he influenced, I know about his philosophical beliefs, and I know about his upbringing, but I do not know about the person. His development of the pope's character leaves you hungry for more. It's like a talking to person for hours at a party who talks about issues, etc. but never reveals a side of them that gives you the feeling you have connected with them.
Secondly, if he could reduce his Polish abd other characters down to about 100 it would help. He mentions so many long, confusing names that you never get to know anyone.
Thirdly, he can tells us what the pope said without quoting long and difficult to read paragraphs ad nauseum of the pope's exact words.
Lastly, although this was obviously well researched, Mr. Kwitny didn't have to make such an issue of it. It's like he is always trying to defend himself in case someone should challenge his statements. The 50 pages of footnotes supporting his statements attests to his preocupation with this. The reader doesn't really care. He could just say it. He doesn't have to prove it. We will take his word for it, or understand that it is just his opinion.
I think this would be a good text book for a class on the pope, but it is not well suited for the average reader.
Steve McMorrow
Rating:
Summary: Multi-dimensional view of an astounding man
Review: Kwitny has written an absorbing biography that is neither hyperventilatingly in awe nor blindly critical of Karol Wojty³a and his pontificate. It's a very human picture we get of an impressive man who has his own blindness (though "shortsightedness" would be a better description).One thing that stands out is Wojty³a's desire for peace that sometimes leads to interesting contradictions. For example, his interfaith meetings and his desire to heal both the Orthodox/Catholic and the Anglican/Catholic rifts meet real trouble when people realize the Catholic church's stated goal is to convert everyone to Catholicism - "And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation" (Mark 16.15). It also becomes clear that Wojty³a is an intellectual and sometimes has problems getting his ideas across so that simpletons (read: Reagan and Bush) can understand what he's driving at (i.e., that he's only advocating some portions of capitalism and not the brutal, unchecked Republican capitalism). Lastly, as the book progresses it becomes increasingly obvious that Wojty³a is one of the rare types that, instead of becoming more and more liberal and tolerant as he grows older, becomes more and more stodgy and conservative.
Rating:
Summary: Multi-dimensional view of an astounding man
Review: Kwitny has written an absorbing biography that is neither hyperventilatingly in awe nor blindly critical of Karol Wojty³a and his pontificate. It's a very human picture we get of an impressive man who has his own blindness (though "shortsightedness" would be a better description). One thing that stands out is Wojty³a's desire for peace that sometimes leads to interesting contradictions. For example, his interfaith meetings and his desire to heal both the Orthodox/Catholic and the Anglican/Catholic rifts meet real trouble when people realize the Catholic church's stated goal is to convert everyone to Catholicism - "And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation" (Mark 16.15). It also becomes clear that Wojty³a is an intellectual and sometimes has problems getting his ideas across so that simpletons (read: Reagan and Bush) can understand what he's driving at (i.e., that he's only advocating some portions of capitalism and not the brutal, unchecked Republican capitalism). Lastly, as the book progresses it becomes increasingly obvious that Wojty³a is one of the rare types that, instead of becoming more and more liberal and tolerant as he grows older, becomes more and more stodgy and conservative.
Rating: 
Summary: A Classic Study of a Great Man
Review: Pope John Paul caught the world's attention with his work to end communism in Central Europe. I am not a Catholic, but I have the utmost regard for what this man has accomplished. The title of this book gives away the author's regard for him also. The Americans give credit for the fall of communism to former Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev, especially in the video series 'Biography of the Millennium' done by A&E, but without the Pope's knowledge of the Central Europeans it would have just been a dream of theirs. I read this book with a great deal of relief that it had been published during the Pope's lifetime. He would probably regard the historical oversight of his work with less frustration than many of his supporters.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Study of a Great Man
Review: This book, which uses the subject's life as a framework for reviewing events and political philosophies leading up to the millenium, has much to recommend it to the general reader..... One need not be intimidated by its size and scope; it's extremely readable and consistently fascinating. As a non-Catholic, I was surprised to learn how very complex and interesting this man Wojtyla is, and, like the movie "Titanic", the inside story of Poland's liberation is exciting, even though one pretty much already knows how it's going to turn out!.... I was also intrigued by the material in the book detailing the origins of the Pope's unpopular views on women and sex, and by the author's discussion of methods used by John Paul II in his struggle against Soviet tyranny as contrasted to those employed by our own government..... While I don't know whether I believe Kwitny's conclusions about the irresistible force of high moral courage -- will the Pope's methods work for the Dalai Lama against the Red Chinese without Star Wars waiting in the wings?? -- I certainly want to believe them, and the evidence marshalled in Man of the Century is both convincing and inspiring.
Rating:
Summary: A Flawed, Yet Good Read
Review: This is, for anybody Catholic or non-Catholic who is interested in the Pope, a good read. But the book is flawed by a full jar of political intrigue. I would buy it, but for the story of the man, not the story of the CIA files on him.
Rating:
Summary: A finely written book, well researched and objective.
Review: Unlike previous books on the life of the current Pope, the author takes a refreshingly objective and scholarly, yet most readable look at one of the most influential of all pontiffs. Focusing not just on Vatican press releases, the author develops a convincing portrait of this most holy, yet wholly human leader of the largest and oldest Christian denomination. Steve Szmutko, Hamilton, NJ END
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