The End and the Beginning

George Weigel solidifies John Paul II’s legacy in this phenomenal volume . . .

The End and the Beginning
Doubleday, 2010. 608 pages, $32.50 hardcover

The book’s full title is a mouthful: The End and the Beginning: Pope John Paul II — The Victory of Freedom, the Last Years, the Legacy. As the follow-up to Witness to Hope (1999), Weigel’s new book draws on the last six years of John Paul’s life. He explores the Pope’s battle with communism, the Great Jubilee and visit to the Holy Land, the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. sexual abuse crisis, his efforts to build bridges with Eastern Churches, and his struggle with illness. A fine tribute to the man who changed the world and revolutionized the papacy.