Details
Synopsis
This biography of Pope Pius XII focuses primarily on the many years that Father Eugenio Pacelli spent as a Vatican bureaucrat. Cornwell claims to have found evidence during those years relating to Pius XII's role in the rise of Nazism and the Holocaust. Cornwell cites agreements and other negotiations between Germany and the Vatican that served to strengthen the Vatican's power over its far-flung church, but also severely restricted the Vatican's role in government. He also considers whether Pius XII may have had a personal animus toward Jews. A New York Times Notable Book of 1999.
| Size | | Length: | 426 pages | | Height: | 8.5 in | | Width: | 5.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 10.4 oz |
Industry Reviews
"Is the indictment persuasive? Sadly, it is."
Weinberg
"There is a lot of room between St. Pius XII and Hitler's Pope--which is where one can find most of the knowledgeable historians."
Steinfels
"The first serious and complete biography of Eugenio Pacelli, Pius XII....[Cornwell's] criticism...is a devastating refutation of the claim that this Pope's diplomacy can in any way be characterized as wisdom."
Carroll
"If true, this tale redefines the entire history of the twentieth century..."
Szulc
"By combining the painstaking research of other scholars with his own new documentation on Pius's knowledge and behavior during World War II, John Cornwell, a British journalist and research associate of Jesus College, Cambridge, makes a case in HITLER'S POPE that is difficult to refute."
Drabelle
"...[T]he subject of the Catholic Church and the Holocaust--the burden of his study--is one that needs dispassionate handling. And it is a pity, because Mr. Cornwell, a professional historian, thoughtful Catholic, and vivid writer, has a solid case that he spoils by intemperance. In effect, he blames one man for events in which, though he played a major role, he could scarcely have exercised control."
Flanagan
"...[A] reasonably lively, good-hearted history, based largely on secondary sources, of the pontificate of Pius XII."
Wilson
"[A] fascinating but in some respects flawed book...The trouble with Cornwell's book lies with its sensationalism."
Deak
"[Cornwell's] book surpasses all others on the subject--and the evidence is always honestly presented, allowing one to establish clear areas of agreement and disagreement with the author."
Johnson
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