This pocket edition of Richard McBrien's acclaimed Lives of the Popes is a practical quick reference tool for scholars, students, and anyone needing just a few concise facts about all the popes, from St. Peter to Benedict XVI.
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
“This short encyclopedia... is an indispensable reference.” (Newsweek )
About the Author
Richard P. McBrien is Crowley-O'Brien Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Educated at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he has also served as president of the Catholic Theological Society of America. A leading authority on Catholicism, he is the bestselling author of Catholicism, Lives of the Popes, and Lives of the Saints, as well as the general editor of The HarperCollins Encyclopedia of Catholicism. Most recently a consultant for ABC News, McBrien offers regular commentary on all the major television networks. He is also a prizewinning syndicated columnist in the Catholic press.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting & fun to read,
By Bill (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Lives of the Popes - reissue: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI (Paperback)
Very well-written and easy to read. The author writes from his more "liberal" point-of-view. So, more "conservative" Catholics will not like his opinions. However, those who accept the Church as she defined herself via Vatican II will enjoy this book. One does not have to read straight through. One can flip around and read about individual popes. One can read the author's top ten lists. His top outstanding pope for the modern era is Pope John XXIII. If you disagree with that, then you probably should not read this book.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating resource,
By
This review is from: Lives of the Popes - reissue: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI (Paperback)
Few institutions endure for two thousand years of falling and rising empires and religions; famine, pestilence, and plenty; wars and natural disasters; exploration and discovery; slavery and abolition; advances and abuse in science, medicine and technology -- in short, two millennia of human folly and accomplishment.
The Papacy not only spans this period: it contributes a unique, vital history. This work (which I read in hardcover in 1997 and to which I still refer) is a remarkable contribution to that history. Patriarchs good and bad (by contemporary and current standards) are profiled with brief biographies in chronological order from Peter to John Paul II. Juxtaposition allows the reader to appreciate the tapestry of major issues each pope faced (doctrinal, liturgical, political, spiritual/temporal, secular, etc), as well as the civil context. It easily affords an independent view of relevant prelates when reading other history. Less well known episodes [the exhumation, trial, conviction, and punishment of Pope Formosus's nine-month old corpse by Pope Stephen VI/VII in the `Cadaver Synod' January 897; Alexander VI's world division and his fateful 1503 dinner, Jullius II's military campaigns while funding the Sistine Chapel with indulgences, etc] are on the record. The text includes a useful episodic time line, as well as appendices on papal elections and removals, ratings, shortest/longest reigns, encyclicals, and anti popes. I respect (remembering my Latin responses 40+years after serving) the view of some reviewers who accuse the author for being too `pro-Vatican II,' but suggest that has little to do with this text. This work documents a vital, accessible history: highly recommended.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Sketches of the Popes But Know What You Are Getting Into....,
By
This review is from: Lives of the Popes - reissue: The Pontiffs from St. Peter to Benedict XVI (Paperback)
Richard McBrien offers thumbnail sketches of the lives of the popes. He makes no bones about his biases and seems to believe that the reforms of Vatican II was left unfulfilled. McBrien offers some fascinating details on some long forgotten popes though he does rush over some very important popes of the Middle Ages (Sylvester II comes to mind). When he reaches the modern era, McBrien is upfront with his biases which is appreciated even when the reader disagrees with the author. He offers some needed appreciation for Benedict XV, pours a bit too much disdain for St. Pius X and rightfully offers praise for John XXIII. His account on the important tenure of Pius XII is muddled as is his quick sketch of the controversy surrounding his role during World War Two. McBrien clearly undervalues John Paul II's papacy. McBrien is not subtle about his hopes either. In the first edition, he continued to hammer home that papal conclaves rarely elect a new pope who is like the old one. One can only imagine what he thinks of Benedict XVI. Still, the book is useful but know what you are getting into in terms of the author's viewpoints.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
