The first poem that I read of his was "Shores of silence," a beautiful poem, very profound, and the best that I've ever read. The poetry of Pope John Paul II, should not be missed. You will most certainly gain much more from reading it. So I encourage you all to order it. Really, it is mesmerizing, and you won't be sorry.

This one-volume reprint of all the authentic original poems of Alexander Pope, first published in 1963, derives from the Twickenham Edition, the recognized standard text of Pope's poetry. It is exhaustive, even down to containing early versions of lines like the verses on "Atticus" which ended up years later in the "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot," and reprints both the "Tibbald" and "Cibber" versions of the "Dunciad." It also has a great deal of useful editorial annotation, though not so much as to overwhelm or supplant Pope's own text and frequent notes. Highly recommended to all who love Pope's verse.

This edition of Pope's work is very, very good. Included are all the major poems, a good selection of the minor poems, and some of Pope's best prose. Also, the edition is edited by Aubrey Williams, a Pope critic with genuine stature and ability, who knows Pope better than any of the editors of more recent editions. This book is an excellent selection for anyone looking for a one-volume edition of Pope.

This work by two investigative reporters is extremely interesting and well-written. How accurate it is I do not know, but I know thatI found it to be extremely absorbing reading. E.g.: The authors say that Cardinal Benelli had 70 votes and if he had gotten 75 he would have elected Pope. Since Benelli died Oct. 25, 1982, if he had been elected the whole history of this latter part of the 20th century would have been different!

I read this book cover-to-cover as soon as I bought it. I love things that are organized and encyclopedic, and though I'm not Catholic, I love this book. I frequently look up information in it, it contains not just information on Popes, but many Vatican buldings, departments, and artwork. This would be invaluable to anyone taking a trip to the Vatican. I have also read Bunson's Encyclopedia Sherlockiana and found it to be equally detailed and informative. I heartily recommend these two books to anyone who is even remotely interested in either subject. After you're through, you'll be more than remotely interested, you'll be hooked.

This is a wonderful way to introduce your children to Pope John Paul II.

Richly illustrated by award-winning Italian comic book artists, the book tells the story of Pope John Paul through a grandfather and his grandchildren.

It includes Karol Wojtyla's childhood and early losses, years in the undergound seminary, skiing escapades, election as Pope, assassination attempt, and many other highlights.

The book also includes a wonderful timeline, list of papal trips, and photographs from the Holy Father's life at the end of the book.

Our own six-year-old son enjoys the book and asks to have it read to him often before bed time. I would recommend it to children ages 6 to 15.

What a real treat to have a beautiful monthly photograph of John Paul's historic and moving pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The calendar provides a great way to preserve this special moment of history, while also providing a helpful way to remember birthdays and anniversaries year after year. What I especially like about this calendar is that you can start using it any time of year, and, for that matter, in any year!

This short collection includes Letter to Women, several Angelus addresses, and other resources. Pope John Paul II on the Genius of Women makes an excellent supplement to Mulieris Dignitatem (English: On the Dignity and Vocation of Women) because the documents included offer more specific examples and applications of MD's teaching. If you're daunted by the size of Theology of the Body, or if you're just beginning to read Church documents on the dignity and vocation of women, this is a great place to start.

Last spring while visiting the mystical and beautiful hillside town of Assisi, Italy with my wife, we came upon an exhibit of photographs taken by Reuters photographers of Pope John Paul II displayed around a balcony above a beautiful courtyard by the basilica.

Wanting to move on with our afternoon, I reluctantly agreed to her request that we look at them, and we immediately became transfixed, not just by their colors, clarity and interesting poses of the Pope with various world figures, ordinary people, on his many journeys,etc.---but with the historic story they told of the now 25 years of his remarkable Pontificate and its impact not just on Catholics, but on the entire world. It is easy from the perspective of this new century to forget that just over a dozen years ago Poland and other great nations of eastern and central Europe were under Russia's heel---and it is due in no small part to this Pope that the evils of that communistic and repressive system fell in Warsaw, Prague, Berlin and ultimately Moscow itself.

So who could have predicted in 1978, 1989, or even in 2000 that a book chronicling this massive tidal wave of historic change, with excellent essays by its editor Phillip Pullella and others acting as a frame for the very special photos, would be published about the Pope reaching across national borders and political philosophies with forewords by the unlikely duo of Lech Walesa and Mikhail Gorbachev!

As we left the exhibit that day in Assisi, we commented to each other that the photographs deserved to be in a book for countless others who could not see them in person to enjoy. So even before seeing it I purchased several copies having a hunch it would be great, and it is the perfect book to have and to give as a gift. I have never written an Amazon (or any other)review before, but I am pleased and honored to do so for "Pope John Paul II:Reaching Out Across Borders."

This book is for people who either know a lot about Pius X or about 19th-20th Century Catholic church history. If you are looking for a general overview of this saint's life, it is not for you.
I have read many books about St. Pius X, so I wanted to read this, even though at times I found it extremely dry. It is a work by a scholar for a scholar. Pius X is a much maligned pope, especailly by historians of the 1960's to the 1970's, non-Christians most of them, secular thinkers who consider the Roman church a political rather than a religious institution. Gimme a break.

Mr Charon certianly suceeds in giving poor Pius X a break, showing this pope's actions in the light of one who put God first in his life. Pius was not a reactionary, but a reformer of the church. For one thing, from the time Pius was a curate, all the way till he was pope, he strongly emphasized religious education for adults. And acted on it. No confusion about the Real Presence vs. symbolism when HE was around. Mr. Charon gives many more examples of Pius's emphasis of the Church promoting the Christian religion rather than some political nonsense.

I agree strongly with the belief that "a person,s work cannot be properly evaluated till at least 100 years after his death." People who wrote in the '60's and 70's were all gaga with Vatican II, and blind to history before 1962. As historians, I really can't figure where they were coming from. Mr. Chiron shows us how people living in the 19th century are perfectly natural to act in 19th century ways.

Note: One cute mistake in this book was a photographic one. Those who who laid out the photographs got mixed up. instead of publishing a photo of Joseph Sarto (later Pius X) as Patriarch of Venice (1902) they published Angelo Roncalli, who was Patriarch of Venice in 1953. Roncalli later became John XXIII.
Aloysha Sipp