Rating: 
Summary: Portrait of a Colossus
Review: I did not expect to find Weigel on the Pope so engrossing. I decided to buy it because I have come to realize just how significant a figure in both Christian and world affairs the Pope has been. Karol Wojtyla's biography has inspired me to look beyond the present. As I read I realized how deeply I had misunderstood the Pope. There is little doubt that he is one of the greatest figures of our time. Some of my misconceptions of John Paul were due to my own personal discomfort as an Anglican with various facets of Roman Catholicism. However, our own limited perceptions should not distort our recognition of greatness.Just as I brought my own preconceptions to the man, so have the media who have been covering him since that day in 1978 when he was elected. The press have distorted this man because they have read him through glasses tinted by their own secular conditioning. As a result there is a "good" John Paul who affirms some of their social agendas, and then there is the "bad" John Paul, who seems not to understand their progressive preferences. Weigel makes it clear that they have profoundly misunderstood him because will not measure him on his own Christian terms. To grasp the significance of John Paul, we need to come to terms with the complexities of his personality and his origins in a family beset by tragedy in his early years. But that is not enough. From there we need to explore his own personal Christian journey, his theological formation, his philosophical studies, and the tough environment in which he grew to adulthood and exercised the first 30 years of his ministry. Furthermore, this man who cannot be understood unless we see him first and foremost as a priest, a pastor, and a man of mystical prayer. "The sheer drama of Karol Wojtyla's life would defy the imagination of the most fanciful screenwriter," says Weigel. The Poland in which Wojtyla grew up briefly emerged from Nazi tyranny, only to be swept into the Russian sphere of influence and be subjected to a different kind of totalitarian repression as a result of the unfortunate dealings at Yalta. In the brief twilight between these two oppressions, he was ordained and sent to Rome to study. If we are to understand the Pope's perception of world affairs, we have to realize the significant part Yalta plays in his grasp of global realities. An actor, playwright, priest, philosopher, pastor, and athlete, John Paul II seems almost too good to be true. "Given the expectations of contemporary biography, a writer almost regrets the absence of detractors and critics of his subject. Perhaps even more striking is the fact that Karol Woytyla's intelligence, creativity, and pastoral success did not attract clerical jealousies... He lived a singularly integrated priestly and personal life." The opening 250 pages focus on Wojtyla's life prior to the papacy. The remainder deals life since. In the years before his election, Wojtyla had become a major player in world Catholicism, having been appointed Archbishop of Krakow and then a cardinal at an exceedingly early age. Only after he was installed as archbishop did the authorities realize the sort of man they were up against. What they seemed not to have understood is that Wojtyla's approach was not direct confrontation of authorities who only seemed to understand the language of power, but the longer term task of undermining them through Christian "cultural resistance." He was not going to roll over and play dead before his oppressors, but would gradually pull the rug out from beneath their credibility, revealing their spiritual, moral, social, political, and cultural bankruptcy. Because of his Polish heritage in a country trapped between totalitarian Germany and Russia, the Pope has had a lifelong passion for human freedom. His two doctorates in philosophy were built around this topic, and it has been the subject of his most significant pronouncements. However, he is misunderstood if interpreted through the lenses of secular liberalism. His perception of freedom is that ultimately it is focused in obedience and self-giving to the One who died upon the Cross. In the middle is a chapter entitled "In the Eye of the Storm." It is pivotal. The honeymoon was over, and the principalities and powers were out to neutralize his papacy. His approach had literally put him in the eye of political, social, and theological storms. This chapter deals with his response to and encouragement of the Gdansk shipyard strike in August 1980, and the rise of Solidarity in Poland. His affirmation of such activities put him on a collision course with the Soviet empire, and led to the unsuccessful assassination attempt of 1981. Weigel suggests that his constant challenge eroded the ability of an undemocratic Communism to survive. The Pope was a catalyst for world-shattering change. While all this was going on, the Pope was proceeding against what he perceived to be error within the church. It would seem that the policies he had outlined in the first years of his primacy were now taking on a shape and form that would have a profound impact upon the future -- these were an affirmation of human dignity, a passion for prayer and truth, the yearning for unity among Christians and peoples, and the evangelization of the world. His concern for evangelization is a key component of this man. He believes that for a human being to be truly free and whole, that person must surrender to the One who died for us. The Pope's faith is utterly Christ and Cross centered. He sees mission, unity, and truth belonging together, and that if truth or unity are compromised then mission suffers. Put simply, John Paul wants the world to know the good news about Jesus Christ that has led him throughout his own life to be utterly self-surrendering in order that the one to whom he surrenders may have the whole of him. This book is a winner.
Rating: 
Summary: The best bio yet of John Paul II
Review: I read Szulc's biography in 1995, Bernstein's in 1997, and Kvitny's in 1998, but this one by George Weigel is far and away the most satisfying to read, IMHO. This book tells why the Pope has taken positions he has, and makes them understandable and convincing. Not that Weigel is entirely laudatory. When some effort of the Pope's has not worked, Weigel bluntly says so. But overall, I found reading this book a joyous and impelling experience.
Rating:
Summary: absolutely a must
Review: I was feeling the need of understanding the extremely decisive and influent actions than Pope John Paul II has done in the last twenty years. This book tells in depth the more important questions and explays documents, decisions and gives information not often told, but necessary, and that is a contribution than deserves many many thanks to the author.
Rating:
Summary: a very rich book
Review: I'd already read a couple biographies of this pope and was initially reluctant to get this one. The other biographers seemed to miss the point by seeing JPII in strictly political terms. Weigel masterfully adds color and dimension so that a much more vivid portrait emerges. It is the definitive biography for me because it is jam-packed with inside information on the spiritual issues of our time and for that reason will also serve as a reference book.
Rating:
Summary: More than just the facts about John Paul II
Review: If you want to understand the 20th century this book is a must read, but it could also be a dangerous read. The insights into the East/West relations, the dynamics of the fall of the Soviet Union, the incredible changes that have and are taking place often involve this one remarkable man. The most incredible thing is that this book is more than just a story about John Paul II. It is a real challenge to live a life of faith and hope and that is the dangerous part. Either John Paul II has lived a life of consistently impossible coincidences, magical escapes, unbelievable long shots coming in, or God is moving powerfully in the life of this man and it is profitable for everyone to pay attention. But that requires we change our lives to live a life of faith and hope, like John Paul II does. Quite a challenge.
Rating:
Summary: More than just the facts about John Paul II
Review: If you want to understand the 20th century this book is a must read, but it could also be a dangerous read. The insights into the East/West relations, the dynamics of the fall of the Soviet Union, the incredible changes that have and are taking place often involve this one remarkable man. The most incredible thing is that this book is more than just a story about John Paul II. It is a real challenge to live a life of faith and hope and that is the dangerous part. Either John Paul II has lived a life of consistently impossible coincidences, magical escapes, unbelievable long shots coming in, or God is moving powerfully in the life of this man and it is profitable for everyone to pay attention. But that requires we change our lives to live a life of faith and hope, like John Paul II does. Quite a challenge.
Rating:
Summary: John Paul II, "From The Inside"
Review: In his novel "The Magic Mountain", Thomas Mann wrote that only the truly exhaustive is interesting. George Weigel may have taken Mann's maxim to heart when writing this massive biography of Pope John Paul II. Extensively researched and meticulously cross-referenced, this 900-plus page book seems to approach its subject by subtly appropriating methods and styles associated with the Pope, viz.,
1) Weigel places the focus of the book on the person of Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II), rather than on abstract questions of ecclesiology, theology, or politics;
2) he approaches his subject discursively and from as many different perspectives and backgrounds as possible, taking the reader through fascinating presentations of Polish culture, World War II realities, Cold War geopolitics, Marxist socialism, the turbulence of the Second Vatican Council, the history of post-Revolution church-state relations in France, etc.;
3) he adopts a motto of John Paul II's phenomenology and attempts to understand his subjects "from the inside," to try to arrive at a sympathetic and experiential depth view of his subject; and
4) he presents the action of the book as a drama that unfolds, as poetic, and as prophetic vision.
A demanding read, not that it is exceedingly obscure or technical but due to the encyclopedic breadth of its narrative and its digressions, it is nonetheless a compelling read, particularly in the initial chapters and through most of the chapters on the pontificate. (The later chapters lose a bit of their edge, largely, one would think, because it becomes most difficult to frame contemporaneous events, absent the perspective that the passage of at least a few years.) The first quarter of the book concerns Karol Wojtyla before his election. This launches the book forward, since he is depicted so distinct and vividly in spiritually heroic and charismatic terms that, although the reader may be very familiar with John Paul II's pontificate, the reader will be pulled forward in the book by the strong desire to see how this man, the "Lolek" of this book, rises to the challenges of the papacy.
Weigel's writing is at all times respectful of the Pontiff -- he obviously admires John Paul II greatly. Weigel, an orthodox American Catholic, does not shrink from pointing out instances where he believes this papacy has stumbled or failed, such as His Holiness's (at least for the time being) frustrated initiatives to restore unity with the Orthodox Churches.
This biography also points down further avenues for understanding a slice of 20th century history -- works by phenomenologists such as Husserl and Scheler, the writings of Edith Stein, the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and Wojtyla's plays, philosophical treatises, and religious writing. It's always a particular reward when a book points to further areas to explore.
The College of Cardinals elected Wojtyla pope when I was still a teenager. Most of the import of it was lost on me, sadly -- adolescence has its own priorities. Weigel's book allows a chance to view that time through a new lens, to see movement and patterns in current history to which may have been missed the first time around.
Rating: 
Summary: Good research,solid writing,JPII as neo-conservative
Review: In this massive biography,obviously a labor of love,Mr. Weigel has fashioned a portrait of His Holiness to match his own political beliefs. the more difficult of His Holiness' papacy are brushed over lovingly{Archbishop Romero,for example} in favor of philosophical argument.Labor unions are also ignored{rather odd considering that His Holiness wrote Sollicitudo Rei Socialis and Laborem Exercens},it would appear simply because it works against the basic thesis of Mr. Weigel. Too bad, for he writes well, had unlimited access,and could really have done something. Our Sunday Visitor took Mr. Weigel to task for his omission of Labor and Social concerns{OSV is hardly a "liberal" publication},as did the Houston Catholic Worker,a publication that simply Adores His Holiness, quotes him extensively, and practices what they preach.Which, in the end is all that any of us, His Holiness, Mr. weigel, or myself, can do.
Rating:
Summary: A lesson of history, philosophy and truth
Review: It is impossible to deny the influence that JPII has had within the XX century. This biography shows how he was prepared by God to be a Pope. Weigel gives you a vast view about Poland, the life before the comunism, after occupation and how John Paul II has change the course of the history. The letter to Den Xiao Ping, the visit to Cuba, the downfall of Berlin Wall show hoe the Holy Father has fought for peac, love and truth during his pontificate. He has given majesty to the ofice of Peter, he is a deign succesor of the fis Pope, an apostle, and Weigel gives you a very critic point of viewn ,with facts and numbers, two thing that nobody cannot fight against, to demonstrate why this man is the most important figure of the XX century.
Rating:
Summary: The Gospel Of Pope John Paul II
Review: It is said that the Gospels are not biographies of Jesus, but rather spiritual treatises, based on the life and sayings of Jesus. Similarly, "Witness To Hope" is truly a book which uses the life and sayings of Pope John Paul II to convey the spiritual message of his life and ministry. In "Witness To Hope" George Weigel introduces us to the inner thought and life of John Paul II. True, we do read of the events of his life, not so much to learn them, but to understand him. In this book we meet a man who believes in eternal, unchangeable truths, a man whose relationship with each human being is based on a recognition of the individual's inherent dignity and worth. Whereas other biographies explain John Paul II's life as reflecting his Polishness, "Witness To Hope" goes much deeper. Here we meet a man who thinks in centuries, not sound bites, although he can speak in sound bites too, a man who can touch millions personally in the course of his travels, as well as individually in the confessional. Here we meet the family, teachers, friends, theologians and philosophers who shaped John Paul's world view. Here we meet a man who sees problems in a radical way, that is at their root. With this vision, John Paul can attack problems at their course, not on their surfaces. Here we meet a man who is not out of touch with reality, because he knows human nature at its core. If John Paul has a problem in communicating, it is with people who have forgotten what it means to be human, a meaning found only in Jesus Christ. John Paul's Papacy has been highlighted by incessant efforts to evangelize and to teach the world
His world wide travels have made him the Church's number one evangelist. His extensive writings have laid the intellectual groundwork for a great Catholic revival. This is only one of many contradictions in John Paul II which Weigel points out to us. The challenge which John Paul II sees it his duty to oppose is that of a world which tries to find its meaning of life in anything other than God. In the conclusion, George Weigel defines the "Great" Popes as those who successfully confront a mortal threat to civilization. John Paul's claim to this title will depend on how accurately he has defined the threat of our day and how well he has met that threat. Read this book that you may understand John Paul better. Whether he has earned the moniker of "John Paul The Great", I can only give the advise which he gives every penitent, "You must decide."
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