Man of the Century: The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II [Hardcover]

Jonathan Kwitny (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1997

Publishers Weekly Book of the Year
Booklist Editor's Choice, 1997

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Pope John Paul II hasn't always been the most popular man in the world--even many Catholics have disregarded his opinions on crucial matters of morality. Award-winning investigative reporter Jonathan Kwitny draws a detailed portrait of the Pope that reveals a man of momentous significance, warts and all.

Through unrelenting research, Kwitny shows how John Paul's dynamic pastoralism and action-centered philosophy influenced and guided the intellectuals and workers in Eastern Europe who eventually dismantled the Iron Curtain. It was for one of John Paul's books that the underground presses in Poland began functioning. Czech intellectuals risked their lives to hear his ideas, and because they heeded his advice, Solidarity's workers held out against the Communists. Pulling the pieces all together, Kwitny makes a strong case for John Paul truly being the man of the century. He quotes Gorbachev, saying, "Everything that happened in Eastern Europe during these past few years would have been impossible without the pope."

When light breaks through the prism of this pope, no simple image appears; so that we can make up our own minds, Kwitny gives us the full spectrum.

From Library Journal

A man who has covered the Cold War?as an investigative reporter with the Wall Street Journal and then host of PBS's The Kwitny Report?decides to profile a man of peace.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 768 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.; 1st edition (September 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805026886
• ISBN-13: 978-0805026887
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 2.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,640,495 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A journalist helps set the record straight about the pope., December 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Man of the Century: The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II (Hardcover)

I first got interested in reading Man of the Century when I heard a National Public Radio interview featuring the author and Fr. Richard McBrien. The question arose about who has teaching authority in the Church. Kwitny cited Vatican II documents which affirm that supreme jurisdiction regarding faith and morals belongs to the pope. Rather than offer an opposing text, McBrien appealed to authority--his own. "I have been teaching theology for thirty-five years..." He went on to characterize Kwitny's statement as "fundamentalism." Of course, it would not have done Kwitny any good to make a further appeal to the actual texts since that is exactly what you expect fundamentalists to do. (They can't stand ambiguity so they look for security in black and white answers--in case you haven't heard.)

Later in the NPR interview Ray Suarez asked about the upcoming papal trip to Cuba. Kwitny attempted to place it in context of the pope's position vis-a-vis both communism and capitalism. McBrien said he would be looking at something else: what it showed about the state of the pontiff's health. Kwitny pointed out the Holy Father had just finished a grueling visit to France for World Youth Day and had another taxing trip scheduled for Brasil in the fall.

These exchanges made me think that Kwitny might have a good ability to "set the record straight." I was not disappointed. For example on the question of whether pope is going against Vatican II, he makes it clear he is not. He describes his involvement in the council as a young bishop and the consistency of his teaching with it. It is sometimes said the Holy Father has backed away from the Vatican II teaching on "collegiality." Kwitny shows in effect there was no particular teaching to back away from--if it is understood as a kind of primus inter pares (first among equals) sharing of authority. But collegiality in the sense of talking to a broad range of people before making a decision was something he practiced as bishop of Krakow. And as pope he was willing to take counsel and turn from his first impulse--for example, on the question of recognizing Israel.

On a myriad of other questions this is a book which can help to set the record straight: the pope's relationship to "Liberation Theology," his supposed bias against women, his disciplining of theological dissenters, etc. The real story is both more complex and more fascinating than the standard assumptions. One little example: the pope's remark about "husbands not lusting even after their own wives" is put into context and shown to have a meaning well beyond the jokes. A bigger example: what the actual procedure was in calling Fr. Hans Kung (and other dissenting theologians) to some accountability. And a question of justice relating not to John Paul II, but his predecessor. David Yallop wrote a book called In God's Name arguing that Pope John Paul I had been assassinated and accusing six people of having the motive and means to have done it. The book was a sensational best seller. Kwitny exposes some of its shabby research, citing a much more reliable account Thief in the Night by John Cornwell.

But the biggest question on which the author hopes to set matters straight is the pope's responsibility for the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. He rather effectively demolishes the view there was a conspiracy between the Vatican and the Reagan administration which brought totalitarianism down. Instead he advances the position that beginning in the late forties, Fr. Karol Wojtyla was laying the intellectual groundwork for its eventual fall. It was then he began inspiring young Polish leaders with a view of the supreme dignity of each human person. When he became bishop in 1958, he played key role in organizing an effective national church. Twenty years later, at the age of 58, he became pope. Kwitny argues that he steered a policy between the Ostpolitik of Pope Paul VI and rigidity of President Reagan. Moreover it was John Paul II who carried the day. The bulk of the book is dedicated to showing that his approach worked. The downfall of communism was not brought about by military or even ultimately economic considerations--but because of ideas and spirituality. The thesis makes considerable sense to me, but then I am convinced that what finally concerns man is not economics, but meaning.

Kwitny gives tantalizing glimpses into the pope's own spirituality. On one level it is highly intellectual--and he seems to have an almost super-human personal discipline. But on another level his religiosity seems embarassingly external. As a boy he would kneel before statues to pray. As an adult he sometimes prostrated himself in a chapel. He was attracted to the controversial mystic, Padre Pio. While he was studying in Rome, he went to San Giovanni Rotondo and spent hours waiting in line to go to confession to him--and was evidently told "you will attain the highest position in the church." He thought the prophecy was fulfilled when he was made cardinal of Krakow. He not only sought out Padre Pio for confession, but for a miraculous healing. When a doctor friend of his fell sick with a terminal illness, bishop Wojtyla sent a letter to Padre Pio asking for his prayers. She recovered and attributes her healing to the prayers of the mystic.

What impressed me most in Man of the Century was his pastoral zeal. His indefatigability as pope is well known, but the level of his commitment shined through most clearly in his early assignments--one to a small country parish, the other to the university. Neither were ones he sought or felt himself particularly suited for, but he threw himself into them with an incredible devotion. I have to say I was simply amazed by what Kwitny recounts of his relationship as a priest to university students. The intimacy they acheived through Masses, confessions, outings, discussions was marvelous. And during it all, the young priest was thinking and putting into writing a philosphy and spirituality which would reshape his country and the eventually the entire world.

Man of the Century is worth reading. It is not the definitive work on Pope John Paul II (I am personally waiting for George Weigel's promised biography). And by way of contrast he makes some strong criticisms of Pope Pius XI and Pius XII. Some of them seem undeserved. And hindsight is always 20/20. (We can all imagine how we would have responded to Nazism if we lived back in the 30's, but we are less sure exactly how to respond for example to abortion in our own day.) Nor does Pope John Paul II escape criticism. I am fully prepared to accept that he has his blind spots and has made his blunders--for example in some financial matters. Evangelical poverty seemed to have come almost "naturally" to him, but along with it a casualness about financial matters in general. Still this was another area where cirmcunstances forced the pope to learn and he did so rather quickly.

Of particular interest to Catholics from Seattle are the pages Kwitney devotes to the "Hunthausen affair." Once again the overall context the author provides can help set the record straight. My own sense is that we are not quite ready for that. The investigation was taken as a personal attack, especially by us priests, and we reacted with predictable defensiveness. The emotions are probably still to raw to take a more serious look at what was involved. Nevertheless, for those willing to do so Man of the Century can help. It brings matters together in a way I have not yet seen. Hardly a definitive treatment, it does however state the issues succintly and separate out what does not really pertain.

This is scarcely a book for those who, like the priest referred to initially, have pre-judged the present pope. "Conservatives" may like it even less than "liberals" but it will tend to help set the record straight.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good read, with much food for thought!, May 1, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Mass.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Man of the Century: The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II (Hardcover)

This book, which uses the subject's life as a framework for reviewing events and political philosophies leading up to the millenium, has much to recommend it to the general reader..... One need not be intimidated by its size and scope; it's extremely readable and consistently fascinating. As a non-Catholic, I was surprised to learn how very complex and interesting this man Wojtyla is, and, like the movie "Titanic", the inside story of Poland's liberation is exciting, even though one pretty much already knows how it's going to turn out!.... I was also intrigued by the material in the book detailing the origins of the Pope's unpopular views on women and sex, and by the author's discussion of methods used by John Paul II in his struggle against Soviet tyranny as contrasted to those employed by our own government..... While I don't know whether I believe Kwitny's conclusions about the irresistible force of high moral courage -- will the Pope's methods work for the Dalai Lama against the Red Chinese without Star Wars waiting in the wings?? -- I certainly want to believe them, and the evidence marshalled in Man of the Century is both convincing and inspiring.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic Study of a Great Man, November 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Man of the Century: The Life and Times of Pope John Paul II (Hardcover)

Pope John Paul caught the world's attention with his work to end communism in Central Europe. I am not a Catholic, but I have the utmost regard for what this man has accomplished. The title of this book gives away the author's regard for him also. The Americans give credit for the fall of communism to former Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev, especially in the video series 'Biography of the Millennium' done by A&E, but without the Pope's knowledge of the Central Europeans it would have just been a dream of theirs. I read this book with a great deal of relief that it had been published during the Pope's lifetime. He would probably regard the historical oversight of his work with less frustration than many of his supporters.