This author did not waste his time and was not lazy in writing about this Pope of Hope. If you are a Roman Catholic you will enjoy the insight and may cringe about the foresight of what is revealed. If you are Jewish you will see the opportunity that is available now in coming to grips with reconciliation based on truth of history known only to sons and daughters of Abraham. The book is easy to read, follows in details and reveals as much as one can know about this man of honor, spiritual healing and forgiveness to those who hate him, tried to kill him and disdain his faith. Communists will see just how puny their ideas and philosophy are compared to what motivates and guides this man of God. In the end, like all good biographies you will learn more than you came to know about a simple but powerful example of a man called John Paul II. Excellent superb excellence.

This is an excellent book that shows us why our current Pope will someday be known as Pope John Paul II the Great! It is an insightful look into both the pope's life, thought, and faith. It addresses the often neglected Theology of the Body. I had the honor of meeting the Holy Father face to face with my wife after our wedding on our honeymoon and it was an awesome experience. I recommend it to anyone who would like to understand both the man and the Catholic Church as it enters into the third millenium of Our Lord.

For this Presbyterian, George Weigel's book about Pope John Paul II was a revelation not only about a remarkable figure in history, but also about Catholic thought and practice. Weigel has written far more than a conventional biography. "Witness to Hope" is also a sweeping history of John Paul's times and his papacy, a trenchant observer's comments on politics in the '70s and '80s, and a sharp-minded theologian's explication of John Paul's voluminous writings. A couple of critics have sniped that Weigel's book lacks "incisive criticisms" of John Paul. In fact, Weigel does speak critically at many points; he simply does so with such civility and respect that bloodthirsty adversaries of the Pope and his church are likely to be disappointed. Far more valuable is Weigel's fidelity to a principle that he states at the outset: that John Paul's life and papacy can only be understood "from the inside." Weigel's vantage point is as "inside" as any author is likely to get; footnote after footnote reveals that information provided by Weigel comes directly from conversation with John Paul II. Weigel's own credentials as a religious thinker and writer, his access to the Pope and to senior officials of the Holy See, the dramatic life of his subject--- all these make the nearly 900 pages of this immense book richly rewarding for the serious reader. Consistently throughout "Witness to Hope," George Weigel paints a fervently evangelical and intellectual Pope who presents Christianity as demanding, but exciting and fulfilling. One might say the same about George Weigel's book: it makes greater demands upon the reader than would a more superficial, sentimental biography--- but it richly rewards the reader with its account of an important life.

Catholic social teaching took an important turn when Pope John Paul II promulgated his magisterial encyclical Centesimus Annus in 1991. The Pope dealt with a wide range of topics, but focused special attention on economic justice. While there is much that a democratic capitalist (to broow Michael Novak's useful phrase) might quibble with in the encyclical, it nevertheless rewards careful reading. Unfortunately, this book does not do it justice. The book is in two parts. First, a poorly edited condensation of the encyclical itself. Second, a collection of essays. The commentaries mostly appeared in a 1991 issue of National Review. They average 3-4 printed pages. The analysis is uniformly shallow and even trite. In short, there is little here that would be of interest to the serious scholar or even the informed layman.