Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II

This book sounds almost evangelical in its presentation of the Gospel. If one did not know how devout a Maryologist JPII was, you would not see it in this book. JPII set out to be a unifier of Christians, and so wrote in a popular vein that is highly attractive to non-Roman Catholics. Some of the details of his life are glossed over and slight misdirections are presented as facts. Still, an excellent work.

Witness to Hope; the Biography of John Paul II. George Weigel. 1999. I have never finished a book and wanted to start re-reading it, but this is what happened when I finished this book! I started reading it last spring when I watched a biographical movie on John Paul on EWTN. The fact that I read a few chapters and then stopped for a month of so has nothing to do with the subject or the author. It was just me. The book was over 900 pages and needed an occasional break. Weigel is a wonderful writer and the Lord knows, John Paul II is an awesome subject! And it is so much more than the life story of John Paul, II. It is a history of our modern world since the beginning of WWI, and it is so readable! My biggest regret is that my show more non-Catholic friends who like to read history won’t read this because the will think it just about a pope. Instead of starting to re-read it, I ordered the sequel, The End and the Beginning! show less

Witness to Hope is the authoritative biography of one of the singular figures—some might argue the singular figure—of our time. With unprecedented cooperation from John Paul II and the people who knew and worked with him throughout his life, George Weigel offers a groundbreaking portrait of the Pope as a man, a thinker, and a leader whose religious convictions defined a new approach to world politics—and changed the course of history. As even his critics concede, John Paul II occupied a unique place on the world stage and put down intellectual markers that no one could ignore or avoid as humanity entered a new millennium fraught with possibility and danger.

Weigel is a biased and dishonest writer. The entire book contains no reference to the Society of St Pius X, Lefebvre, or the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei adflicta. This shows either appalling judgment as to important issues, or deliberate skewing of issues. JP2 was a heroic man, undoubtedly a saint and i will rejoice in his canonisation, but information coming to light since his death reveals JP2's own lack of judgment in relation to Maciel and aberrant priests. These require deep consideration, and weigel showed no insight or perspicacity. He is but a fawning hagiographer peddling a party line for opus dei.

An incredible story about one of the most important people of the last century. 3 stars because I felt that it got a little repetitive near the end and came a little close to hagiographic.
Also - I found the audiobook version quite engaging and easy to follow. I think that reading it would have been a challenge.

P-A2

3305. Witness to Hope / The Biography of Pope John Paul II, by George
Weigel (read Apr 26, 2000) This is the best biography yet I have read of the Pope, far surpassing Ted Szulc's which I read Dec 22, 1995, Bernstein's which I read Feb 16 1997, and Kwitny's, which I read Feb 14, 1998. An amazing book about an amazing man.