I just finished reading John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan. I had reading a book about Pope John Paul II on my "to do" list for a long time. Earlier I had read her book What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era. Both books left me somewhat cold for similar reasons. Frankly, when she exceeds essay or article length, she becomes disorganized and loses focus. I expected better this time and was again disappointed. I added to the first paragraph of the review: "The book is a combination of an (almost) hagiography mixed down with an annoying amount of "author intrusions" concerning her views on various theological and political issues."

Pope John Paul II was a historical great. He was unusually courageous during the Holocaust in maintaining close friends among Jewish people. As Pope, on behalf of the Vatican he recognized the State of Israel. Noon diluted the greatness of her subject with personal meanderings. Indeed, a few times she said, in the book, "now, let's return to John Paul." Nowhere was there discussion of the sheer bravery in befriending Jews during Holocaust-era Poland, the country with the highest ratio of its Jews murdered. The book did admirably cover the Church's pedophilia scandals. The book also gave a surprisingly good overview of Europe's manic self-immolation in the course of two world wars.

The timing of my reading the Peggy Noonan book was the completion of Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews, by James Carroll. Constantine's Sword was a powerful history of the Roman Catholic Church. About the only thing it didn't mention was the pedophilia scandals and the high-living lifestyle of some of the Archbishops and Cardinals. Both of those were discussed by Peggy Noonan, so I have to give the book a "three." I will say I almost put the book down until the chapter on the pedophilia scandals, called "The Great Shame." The drawback of the book is I still feel that I don't know as much about John Paul as I wanted to. ( )

The author brings her sharp observations, acute sensibility, warmth, and wit to the life of the pope and shows the personal effect his journey had upon her and millions of others. Written with heart and depth, this is at once a moving elegy and a brilliant celebration of a man whose life taught others how to live.

Complete bios of John Paul have already been written. I enjoyed listening to Noonan describe her personal journey and John Paul's influence on her life, yet there was enough meat about John Paul to keep it from being all about her. I learned some things about John Paul that I didn't know, many of which made me smile. What a great man and pope. The author does a great job narrating her book. ( )

In the main, this book’s mission is two-fold. First, it give us a closer look at Pope John Paul, now a canonized saint, and fills out much of the details to enable us to see his greatness, both as a pope and as a human being journeying toward heaven. We begin to get a glimpse of why he is indeed John Paul the Great. We observe in him great courage and skill, along with real human tenderness and humility. He has astounding faith and trust in God. This we see coupled with his very high regard for the human person. He is one of the greatest advocates for human dignity. He demonstrates this through great compassion and understanding. Peggy. Noonan gives a portrait of a man who is devoted to God; one who relies on God’s grace to accomplish his papal mission.

The second mission has Peggy Noonan as its focus although not without reserve and humility. It’s about her journey in the Christian faith - - her transformation from one who barely acknowledges God to one who yields more completely to God. It's a story of conversion with Pope John Paul being the earthly catalyst to bring her to conversion. This happens as she observed John Paul The Great over several decades including occasions when she encounters him in closer proximity with other pilgrims. She comes to see him for what he is - a spiritual Father. For some this could be monotonous reading but not for those who cherish observing how God stoops to bring his children close to himself. ( )

Well writen. A beautiful insight of the great Pope of our lifetime. ( )