Lessons in Hope: My Unexpected Life with St. John Paul II

Weigel, official biographer of Pope John Paul II and distinguished senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, episodically reveals his experiences accompanying (and studying) Pope John Paul II and the impact this famous pope had on contemporary society. Early in life, Karol Wojtyla demonstrated enormous intellectual capacity and expressed precocious interest in the intersection of faith and reason. The early account of his life, although sourced and factual, comes off as rosy—a sentiment that underpins the rest of the text. Weigel spent decades studying John Paul out of sheer curiosity, and he also brings a journalist and scholar’s attention to his account. His focus is not so much on John Paul’s place in the line of popes, but rather how Karol Wojtyla became pope and then used his power to transform both the Church and religious society at large. This is an enchanting biography about a popular pope. (Sept.)