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Man of the Century: The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II
Publishers Weekly Book of the Year
Booklist Editor's Choice, 1997
Booklist Editor's Choice, 1997
768 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
3 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 24, 2024
My favorite Karol Wojtyla biography so far. Kwitny writes from his own strengths as a journalist with a decades-long placement in Eastern Europe, so there are lots of obscure details about meetings between Soviet and Vatican officials, and the inner workings of Soviet and post-bloc Eastern European nations.
June 19, 2012
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.
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.
September 5, 2012
Learned more about the politics in Poland re: solidarity than I ever knew - and I knew practically nothing. Highly detailed, lays out John Paul's incredible integrity and character, and commitment to a set of ideals that he championed regardless of effect. You do get some understanding of his certainty with respect to celibacy, premarital sex, the decline of advantaged and wealthy countries, liberation theology, radical priests, Marxism, Democracy, and the financial chicanery of the Vatican bank.
August 3, 2024
A VERY FAVORABLE PRESENTATION OF THE LIFE OF JOHN PAUL II
Jonathan Kwitny was a writer for the Wall Street Journal for 17 years, and has also written 'The Crimes of Patriots: A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money, and the CIA,' 'Endless Enemies, Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1997 book, "I undertook this book because years of reporting... persuaded me that the story of the Cold War is widely misperceived. On the evidence, the Cold War was won not by Washington, but by a nonviolent mass movement... led by a man whose religious office had precluded him from talking about it openly. Karol Wojtyla, as bishop of Krakow, forged the Solidarity revolution... What defeated communism was not any incapacity to build weapons, but an incapacity to accommodate the human spirit... In all, [JPII] is truly a man of this century. It would be hard to find another who had touched and been touched by so many of its great events..." (Pg. xi-xii)
Under communism, "Wojtyla was best known for giving intimate advice, not for addressing crowds... 'If someone behaved bravely, and then had problems, it was quite easy to find him later at Wojtyla's. There were dozens of such incidents. But you couldn't ask others what Wojtyla had said---you'd be suspected of being an agent." (Pg. 206) He records, "Many churchmen dress with flair despite their calling... Cardinal Wojtyla traveled in clothes so worn that his driver complained... of embarrassment... Others admired him for not wasting money on clothes." (Pg. 212)
Wojtyla was very influential with regard to the encyclical Humanae Vitae, where Pope Paul VI, "Rejecting the advice of his committees, he reaffirmed a total ban on any form of birth control except the rhythm method... Wojtyla would later (as John Paul II) call it 'the hardest decision any pope has had to make in this century... The great problem for [Paul] was that his own birth-control commission was divided... several leading church voices continued to urge Paul to ... not issue the encyclical. Paul listened instead to the cardinal from Krakow. Although Wojtyla had missed the meeting of the advisory commission, his... exact words---had nonetheless found their way into the text of the encyclical... [he] 'didn't literally write Humanae Vitae... But there were some texts ... that came from Krakow that impressed Paul VI. I think you may assume that [Wojtyla] had an influence." (Pg. 219)
During his 1979 visit to America, after Sister Theresa Kane [superior of the Sisters of Mercy order] complained during his visit to the National Church of the Immaculate Conception about the Church's treatment of women and refusal to allow their ordination, he records, "Privately, John Paul seethed at Sister Kane's insubordination. On his return to Rome, he gathered the Mothers General of all major nun orders and instructed them to send a chastening message to the American group. As for Kane, 'she has never been forgiven. She's anathema as far as the pope's concerned.'" (Pg. 340)
About his relationship with Cardinal Ratzinger [who is now Pope], an archbishop states that Ratzinger shares John Paul's "anti-Enlightenment, antirationalist thinking... The Pope defers to Ratzinger. When a meeting is about to close, it is Ratzinger who can add a last word if he wants." (Pg. 409) Later, he noted, "On Liberation Theology, John Paul would not rein Ratzinger in despite indications that the pope disagreed with him." (Pg. 518) Furthermore, "Turmoil also roiled the American Church. August 19, 1986, John Paul fired Father Charles Curran from his controversial professorship at Catholic University in Washington." (Pg. 556)
This very solidly pro-JPII work will be of great interest to more conservative/traditional Catholics, or others interested in a detailed portrait of this major figure.
Jonathan Kwitny was a writer for the Wall Street Journal for 17 years, and has also written 'The Crimes of Patriots: A True Tale of Dope, Dirty Money, and the CIA,' 'Endless Enemies, Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace,' etc.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1997 book, "I undertook this book because years of reporting... persuaded me that the story of the Cold War is widely misperceived. On the evidence, the Cold War was won not by Washington, but by a nonviolent mass movement... led by a man whose religious office had precluded him from talking about it openly. Karol Wojtyla, as bishop of Krakow, forged the Solidarity revolution... What defeated communism was not any incapacity to build weapons, but an incapacity to accommodate the human spirit... In all, [JPII] is truly a man of this century. It would be hard to find another who had touched and been touched by so many of its great events..." (Pg. xi-xii)
Under communism, "Wojtyla was best known for giving intimate advice, not for addressing crowds... 'If someone behaved bravely, and then had problems, it was quite easy to find him later at Wojtyla's. There were dozens of such incidents. But you couldn't ask others what Wojtyla had said---you'd be suspected of being an agent." (Pg. 206) He records, "Many churchmen dress with flair despite their calling... Cardinal Wojtyla traveled in clothes so worn that his driver complained... of embarrassment... Others admired him for not wasting money on clothes." (Pg. 212)
Wojtyla was very influential with regard to the encyclical Humanae Vitae, where Pope Paul VI, "Rejecting the advice of his committees, he reaffirmed a total ban on any form of birth control except the rhythm method... Wojtyla would later (as John Paul II) call it 'the hardest decision any pope has had to make in this century... The great problem for [Paul] was that his own birth-control commission was divided... several leading church voices continued to urge Paul to ... not issue the encyclical. Paul listened instead to the cardinal from Krakow. Although Wojtyla had missed the meeting of the advisory commission, his... exact words---had nonetheless found their way into the text of the encyclical... [he] 'didn't literally write Humanae Vitae... But there were some texts ... that came from Krakow that impressed Paul VI. I think you may assume that [Wojtyla] had an influence." (Pg. 219)
During his 1979 visit to America, after Sister Theresa Kane [superior of the Sisters of Mercy order] complained during his visit to the National Church of the Immaculate Conception about the Church's treatment of women and refusal to allow their ordination, he records, "Privately, John Paul seethed at Sister Kane's insubordination. On his return to Rome, he gathered the Mothers General of all major nun orders and instructed them to send a chastening message to the American group. As for Kane, 'she has never been forgiven. She's anathema as far as the pope's concerned.'" (Pg. 340)
About his relationship with Cardinal Ratzinger [who is now Pope], an archbishop states that Ratzinger shares John Paul's "anti-Enlightenment, antirationalist thinking... The Pope defers to Ratzinger. When a meeting is about to close, it is Ratzinger who can add a last word if he wants." (Pg. 409) Later, he noted, "On Liberation Theology, John Paul would not rein Ratzinger in despite indications that the pope disagreed with him." (Pg. 518) Furthermore, "Turmoil also roiled the American Church. August 19, 1986, John Paul fired Father Charles Curran from his controversial professorship at Catholic University in Washington." (Pg. 556)
This very solidly pro-JPII work will be of great interest to more conservative/traditional Catholics, or others interested in a detailed portrait of this major figure.
October 27, 2020
Very engaging biography, from the vantage of a reporter rather than a historian. Beware if the author’s agenda, which places all the credit for the fall of communism in the hands of Saint John Paul II, and rejects any credit for the US and the Reagan administration. Also, he crafts an interesting narrative framing Solidarity as a political movement built on JPII’s social teachings, thwarted almost immediately by Western, mostly US Neo-liberals. Im not sure I’d accept either of these theories as completely true.
November 21, 2023
This book definitely challenged many of my preconceived notions of JPII, but reinforced others. In short, Kwitny reveals that JPII was a man of many contradictions, which is an aspect of his character that I think is often overlooked by Catholics who adore him. Most things I read about JPII fail to recognize his flaws; this work does a good job of objectively naming them while also not totally slandering the late pontiff. It gets a bit dry in the middle and I found myself skipping some pages as a result, but overall this is a good biography that I recommend.
August 18, 2020
A highly in-depth biography of John Paul the second he talks about his upbringing during World War II and his actions mostly covertly to take down the USSR very interesting but at the same time very dry. The author takes a lot of time to talk about church scandals that really don’t matter 23 year after the fact. I could not finish the book I just lost my interest
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2025
A detailed account of the fall of communism. Most people still attribute it to Reagan! This book provides the real story.
November 12, 2025
Beginning of the book is riveting. Second half starts to slow down and getting kind of boring with all the church politics.
February 21, 2026
Fyodor, if you can read this, here’s your Alyosha.
May 17, 2015
We American's got short changed on what this man was doing throughout his entire Pontificate >>> 1978 to 2005! If you lack a depth of knowledge about Saint John Paul II you want to read this book. What he did and who he is will astound you. You can pick this book up really cheap at Amazon via this link: Man of the Century: The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II
:))+*
:))+*December 5, 2016
An admirable effort in documenting the life and work of Pope John Paul II. I thought that the part of the book documenting the early life of John Paul was better written than the latter, which gradually became a listing of facts and events.
While this book does not by any means replace George Weigel's two books on John Paul, it represents a view of his life from a different, albeit more secular, perspective.
While this book does not by any means replace George Weigel's two books on John Paul, it represents a view of his life from a different, albeit more secular, perspective.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews