Universal Father: A Life of Pope John Paul II

by Garry O'Connor

Pope John Paul II will go down in history not only as the third longest serving pope, but possibly the most politically influential of all 305 popes and antipopes since St. Peter.

Born in Poland in 1920, Karol Wojtyla's early life was filled with intense love and intense loss: he was eight when his mother died, twelve when his older brother died of scarlet fever, and twenty when his severe but loving father died during the Nazi occupation. An avid soccer player and skier, a gifted poet, playwright and actor, by 1944, after a near fatal accident, Wojtyla was studying for the priesthood in secret.

Garry O'Connor, an accomplished biographer of the likes of Sir Alec Guinness, Ralph Richardson and William Shakespeare has spent the last five years writing and researching this book. Unlike the competition, this book details not only Wojtyla's life before he became pope, his friendships with men and with women, his nationalism, his early years as a priest in rural Poland and his travels to Rome, but it also explores the pope's own poems, plays, and philosophical works to find clues to what makes him tick.

Genres: Biography

450 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2005

Reviews

[ladywallingford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a secular book. It presents Pope John Paul II in an unbiased light which I really appreciate. I do not like biographies tailored to one point of view, especially when the author can write nothing but negative things about the person. With that said, I really enjoyed learning more about the life of Pope John Paul II and was really surprised by some of the things that I learned from this book. It is dated (published right before he died) but that did not detract from it in my opinion. However, I would only recommend this to someone who is willing to read the bad with the good given the topic and the personage. It introduces topics that are still quite controversial in the Church today and presents both viewpoints.

[Valerie Christie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting, there were aspects of John Paul II's life that I didn't know about before reading, like his talents as a poet and playwright. The final chapters dealing with the last years of his life seemed a bit short, and I felt the author could have elaborated more about this period. Otherwise, it's a good book.

[Brian]

Very good biography. Written before JPII's death.

[Jack Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so, so difficult to get hold of good material about religious figures, because almost inevitably the work will be overly sympathetic or overly critical. Universal Father isn't the best biography the English language has ever produced, but I'm quite sure it's the best one of John Paul II, and I'm confident saying so even not having read more than a few pages of any other because O'Connor successfully straddles those extremes. The first half, before Karol Wojtyla became Pope, is especially thoroughly researched and well presented.

[E.A. Comiskey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information about a truly amazing man, but it reads like a text book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covered a lot, without being 1000 pages long. Had a few errors in doctrinal statements, and didn't mention Theology of the Body at all. Reasonably unbiased for someone who clearly admires the pope.