Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy From Peter to John Paul II

by Thomas F. Madden

Saint Louis University professor Thomas F. Madden delivers lectures on the history of the papacy and also sheds light on the personalities of the popes and the flavor of their pontificates. At the same time, Madden demonstrates how the papacy has survived the tumultuous cauldron of history and offers a studied commentary on the future of this resilient institution.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published March 28, 2011

About the author

Thomas F. Madden is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Saint Louis University. As an author and historical consultant he appears in such venues as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and The History Channel.

Dr. Madden's latest book is The Fall of Republics: A History from Ancient Carthage to the American Constitution. His previous books include Venice: A New History, The Concise History of the Crusades, Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World, Empires of Trust, and Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. He has also written and lectured extensively on the ancient and medieval Mediterranean as well as the history of Christianity and Islam.

Awards for his scholarship include the National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholar Award, the Medieval Academy of America's Haskins Medal, and the Medieval Institute's Otto Grundler Prize. He is a Fellow of the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Medieval Academy of America.

Reviews

[Damien Erbacher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great. Engaging lectures. Very nice run through of history.

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 2005 Recorded Books’ Modern Scholar Series released Saint Louis University Professor Thomas Madden’s 14 audio lectures titled “Upon This Rock: A History of the Papacy from Peter to John Paul II. The course and lecture guide are exceptional. I appreciated very much his accounts of the Papacy of the Middle Ages. The conflict between divine right European monarchs and Catholic Popes had a defining impact on the corrupting influence of money, moral laxity, and the imbalance between Papal temporal and spiritual leadership authority. Madden’s insight helps his listeners understand the depths of European and Byzantine history from the juxtaposition of naturalistic and spiritual perspectives. (P)

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a good overview of the history of the Papacy. It fairly identifies both the highest and lowest points of papal history.

(NOTE: I'm stingy with stars. For me 2 stars means a good book or a B. 3 stars means a very good book or a B+. 4 stars means an outstanding book or an A {only about 5% of the books I read merit 4 stars}. 5 stars means an all time favorite or an A+ {Only one of 400 or 500 books rates this!).

[Surisaray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history lesson. Note to self: wise to listen to again sometime.

[Joshua · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lot of stuttering and starts and stops.
Less information then spending an hour reading the wikipedia page on list if popes.

[Mona Ammon · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHY I CHOSE THIS BOOK: Part of my journey to understand the religious beliefs of the world. Plus this is not just religious theory but history which I really like.
SUMMARY: The history of not just the papacy but of the world during the time of the papacy.
REVIEW: This was fascinating. I learned a lot not just about the history of the Catholic church but of other religious denominations and of the world. Because religious institutions do not get born, grow and flounder within a vacuum. They not only influence the world but are influenced by the world - despite supposedly being centered around eternal truths. Some things that that struck me the most were: how the church got blames for things that were not solely its fault such as The Inquisition which was fueled by secular governments just as much and the enlightened views such as support for some of the arts and sciences. But the big thing I noticed how many religious factions within factions there have been with what seems to me minor differences in theology. Certainly minor enough not to warrant people being killed over these differences. *sigh* This book only went up through John Paul II. It ended hopeful with the reforms that had happened and the fact that the church seemed to be going strong. Yet, that was before all the abuse allegations toward priests came out and the complicity of the church hierarchy. I wonder what this author would have made of that.

[Carlos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first audio-book that I ever listened and I have to admit that it was surprisingly good. It goes without saying that Madden puts his own spin on several aspects of the more than occasionally scandalous history of the papacy, but he manages to do so while genuinely informing the reader of the great changes that this institution saw throughout the ages. More importantly, however, Madden also manages to make this more than a list of fun-facts of the more than 200 men who have sat on Peter’s throne, he manages to tell a cohesive story of the influence that they yielded and to which they themselves fell prey to.

[Ubalstecha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book on CD is really a series of lectures on the history of the papacy. Learned quite a bit about the history of Europe at the same time. Nice to listen to while I am making my dinner or doing chores.

[Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I'll start working at a Catholic University in August, I figured I should learn some more stuff about Catholicism. Thus begins the Catholicism "reading" series.

[John Coke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts and finishes well. Perhaps the renaissance had just too much in it to be addressed in this pacey narrative.
A little pedestrian, but not at all bad.

[James Murray]

Excellent! Professor Madden covers more than 2ooo years in a fast but thorough style that reads like an Agatha Christie Novel. This was an audio book I picked up at the library and my only complaint centers around his utter inability to pronounce Latin properly! Otherwise, it's a must.