America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen [Hardcover]

Thomas C. Reeves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2001

Among Fulton J. Sheen's thousands of converts were celebrities such as Clare Booth Luce and Henry Ford II, and former communists Louis Budenz and Elizabeth Bentley. Reeves discusses these conversions and Sheen's close friendship with J. Edgar Hoover, and details for the first time the struggle between Sheen and his chief rival, Francis Cardinal Spellman, a battle of ecclesiastical titans that led all the way to the Pope and to Sheen's final humiliation and exile.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It is hard to believe that this is the first and only full biography of Fulton J. Sheen, perhaps the most important American priest of the 20th century. Sheen was an enormously popular figure in his day, hosting radio and television programs that introduced and explained his faith to millions of listeners and viewers. (He even won an Emmy Award, and the actor Martin Sheen took his stage name from the man.) Thomas C. Reeves, author of the JFK biography A Question of Character, offers an absorbing account of Sheen's life and times. He uncovers fascinating details, including a phony academic degree and the particulars of a bitter dogfight with Francis Cardinal Spellman. Although this is not a hagiographic account, it is an admiring one: Sheen comes across as an astoundingly smart, charismatic, and generous man. No wonder he was such a successful evangelizer: he converted thousands, including Henry Ford II and Claire Booth Luce. He gained some notoriety for his strong anticommunism; reading America's Bishop, in fact, provides a concise history of Catholic anticommunism in the United States. It is an outstanding book that will appeal to fans of George Weigel's Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II and anybody else attracted to this fascinating figure. --John Miller

From Library Journal

One of the most influential American Catholic churchmen of the 20th century, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) here receives overdue historical and biographical attention. Reeves (history, Univ. of Wisconsin, Parkside), the author of various studies on U.S. presidents, liberal Christianity, and 20th-century U.S. history (e.g., A Question of Character: The Life of John F. Kennedy), applies meticulous scholarly investigation to his subject. He shows how Sheen influenced millions of people, teaching theology and philosophy at Catholic University (1926-50) and preaching on radio and television broadcasts that drew many converts, both high-profile and ordinary. A careful reading of Sheen's books which numbered over 60 reveals the staunch faith and proven scholarship underlying his media popularization of religion. Sheen also raised millions for the world's poor and publicly opposed communism, racism, and the Vietnam War. Differences with New York's Cardinal Spellman led him into "exile" as Bishop of Rochester, NY (1966-69), after which he continued to preach, travel, write, and maintain a voluminous correspondence. Reeves has done a yeoman's service in gathering fragmented sources and pointing out archival deficiencies on his subject. Highly recommended for most libraries. Anna M. Donnelly, St. John's Univ., Jamaica, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 463 pages
• Publisher: Encounter Books; First Edition edition (October 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1893554252
• ISBN-13: 978-1893554252
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,051,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extraordinary Biography--Extraordinary Man, October 4, 2001

By 

James H. Toner (Montgomery, AL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen (Hardcover)

Thomas Reeves's biography of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen (1895-1979) is superbly crafted. This is not hagiography, for Bishop Sheen had faults and flaws--pride and an inclination to luxury chief among them, Reeves tells us. But Reeves's balanced and thoroughly researched study reveals a man of whom it truly is not too much to say that he, Sheen, was holy. For Archbishop Sheen, Reeves explains, "believed himself driven by the Holy Spirit, loved by a Savior, supported by a Holy Mother, inspired by the Vicar of Christ" (348). A brilliant lecturer, prolific author, and passionate defender of the Catholic faith, the Archbishop was also persuaded that "the closer we get to Christ the closer [Protestants and Catholics] get to one another" (349). Here is the story of a priest-bishop who gave away millions of dollars to charity, traveled millions of miles to spread the Gospel he loved, and wrote millions of words (and hundreds of books and pamphlets), dedicating his life and extraordinary talents to the service of Christ. Although Bishop Sheen was given to bouts of vanity, he was at the same time intensely devoted to spiritual excellence, and he modeled his deep devotion for decades as, arguably, the best-known (and, no doubt, the best educated) preacher of his time. Reeves tells us, correctly of course, that the actor Martin Sheen took his last name from Bishop Sheen with his permission. Bishop Sheen converted to Catholicism numerous well-known people, including atheists and communists, and countless ordinary people who were seeking a spiritual center for their lives. Reeves's book is as clear, concise, and cogent as it is well documented. This book is a major contribution, not just to Church history, but to American history and biography. One cannot come away from it without concluding, as does Reeves, that Fulton J. Sheen's writing, and indeed his life, were about bringing "solace, healing, and hope to hearts; truth and enlightenment to minds; goodness, strength, and resolution to wills" (4). Bishop Sheen was an extraordinary preacher and teacher, and Reeves's superb biography is worthy of its subject.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Shine on Sheen, August 18, 2002

By 

Eric Barr (Durand, IL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen (Hardcover)

Thomas Reeves deserves kudos and credit for a very fine biography of a man much admired by millions. The high points of this book are as follows: the meticulous gathering of much information simply unknown by his admirers; the careful balancing of sanctity and human frailty of Sheen's character; the fascinating recreation of the Golden Age of Catholicism in America; the personal relationship between Cardinal Spellman and Bishop Sheen; a superb ability to synthesize and bring new insight from the wide variety of materials cited; a great bibliography and excellent notes. The weaknesses are minor: a tendency to repeat some stories, and the maddening tendency of Sheen himself to destroy and misplace correspondence or simply not document his personal life. Despite these minor drawbacks in the book, I was deeply moved by much of this biography and, indeed, brought to tears by the account of the last years of Sheen's life, his meeting with Pope John Paul II, and his funeral. Few will be disappointed in this book; it is a true accomplishment. Many thanks to Professor Reeves for this profound and necessary commentary on the life of a truly great person of the 20th century.

23 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Bio that could have been a Great Bio, November 26, 2001

By A Customer

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This review is from: America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen (Hardcover)

This book is a good complement to Archbishop Sheen's classic autobiography, "Treasure in Clay". I basically liked the book as it gives you insights into the man himself. However, the "gotcha" approach to Thomas Reeves' style of covering a subject sometimes can seem petty. As the book covers the enormous good that Bishop Sheen did, as in giving most of his money away to various charities and needy people, Reeves then points to small failings in Sheen's conduct. Oh boy, he was vain about his appearance, as if his perfectly combed hair pointed to some personality disorder. Come on, cut the man some slack. Other alleged faults were truly minor league. I also found Reeves' style of writing in certain parts cumbersome and circuitous. On the whole this book does a good job of portraying a truly holy man devoted to his God and his Church. Bishop Sheen is long gone but thanks to his books, TV, and radio recordings, he will long be influential to those seeking spiritual guidance. God love him!