Though lacking universal appeal as a volume of prose, the book promotes positive change for a broken world.
Pleas by the pope for a kinder world.
In his latest book, broad in scope yet brief in length, Pope Francis presents readers with 10 requests made “in the name of God.” These requests are sweeping in context: an end to war, universal access to health care, fighting against hate speech and fake news, open doors for immigrants and refugees, and “politics that works for a common good.” He also asks “that the culture of abuse be eradicated from the Church.” These petitions mirror the author’s lifelong interest in people living in poverty, under oppression, in places of conflict, and otherwise at the margins of society. Though clearly addressed to everyone, including non-Catholic Christians and those of other faiths or no faith, the book is far from universally accessible. Given Francis’ style and approach, readers may picture him delivering a speech to an audience of bishops, with a mix of aspirational and bureaucratic language. On one hand, Francis fills the book with such high-minded statements as, “I call on those in Politics to live daily with a strong sense of austerity and humility.” On the other hand, he consistently references and quotes Latin-titled encyclicals and other official church documents, which even many lay Catholics will not recognize or understand in context. The author offers interesting commentary on Catholicism in this moment in time, however. The book serves as an expansion on many of the themes originating in the Second Vatican Council, especially given the pope’s calls for ecumenism, caring for the poor, and focusing on human rights, and it would make a good complement to Pope John Paul II’s Crossing the Threshold of Hope. Though these two works differ in many ways, they both address universal themes and provide insights into two important modern papacies.
Though lacking universal appeal as a volume of prose, the book promotes positive change for a broken world.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9780593727522
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Image
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
IN THE NEWS
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.
Avuncular observations on matters historical from the late popularizer of the past.
McCullough made a fine career of storytelling his way through past events and the great men (and occasional woman) of long-ago American history. In that regard, to say nothing of his eschewing modern technology in favor of the typewriter (“I love the way the bell rings every time I swing the carriage lever”), he might be thought of as belonging to a past age himself. In this set of occasional pieces, including various speeches and genial essays on what to read and how to write, he strikes a strong tone as an old-fashioned moralist: “Indifference to history isn’t just ignorant, it’s rude,” he thunders. “It’s a form of ingratitude.” There are some charming reminiscences in here. One concerns cajoling his way into a meeting with Arthur Schlesinger in order to pitch a speech to presidential candidate John F. Kennedy: Where Richard Nixon “has no character and no convictions,” he opined, Kennedy “is appealing to our best instincts.” McCullough allows that it wasn’t the strongest of ideas, but Schlesinger told him to write up a speech anyway, and when it got to Kennedy, “he gave a speech in which there was one paragraph that had once sentence written by me.” Some of McCullough’s appreciations here are of writers who are not much read these days, such as Herman Wouk and Paul Horgan; a long piece concerns a president who’s been largely lost in the shuffle too, Harry Truman, whose decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan McCullough defends. At his best here, McCullough uses history as a way to orient thinking about the present, and with luck to good ends: “I am a short-range pessimist and a long-range optimist. I sincerely believe that we may be on the way to a very different and far better time.”
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781668098998
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
