An intensely, unconvincingly critical portrayal of the power behind the pope. Opus Dei (“the Work of God”) is a behind-the-scenes organization at the Vatican that seeks to promote the cause of Catholicism around the world. Its fundamentalist-like dedication has been compared to the early Jesuits’ mission to protect the pope and evangelize the world. To hear Hutchison tell it, though, Opus Dei is a dangerous, cloak-and-dagger operation that seeks to infiltrate the highest echelons of government in numerous countries. Hutchison lambastes Opus Dei for its “mantle of religious arrogance,” painting it as a serious threat to the Church. The book rather laboriously traces the Work’s history, beginning with its founder, Josemar°a Escriv†, who emerged from the backwoods of a poor Spanish town to a position of great influence in the Church. He claimed that God revealed the idea for Opus Dei to him in 1928, when he was a young priest. Hutchison sees it quite differently, claiming that Escriv† was a power-hungry megalomaniac who sought control of the Church in Spain. Through tumultuous times during the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s regime, Opus Dei persisted and grew, adding members from among the country’s elite. It eventually spread throughout Europe and became a significant force in the 1950s anti-Communist movement and the 1960s conservative rejection of Vatican II. Since Escriv†’s death in 1975, Opus Dei has extended its interests to counteracting the spread of Islam in the West. In 1992, Escriv† was beatified (the first step in the canonization process), a decision that makes Hutchison cry foul. He accuses Opus Dei’s powerful membership of steamrolling (and bankrolling) a campaign to sanctify its founder, about whom Hutchison has nothing positive to say. At one point he even hints that Escriv†’s doctoral degree was not earned but bestowed mysteriously by a powerful admirer. Fodder for the conspiracy theorists, fueled by Hutchison’s incendiary allegations and characterizations of Opus Dei as “a Mafia shrouded in white.” (16 pages b&w photos)
Pub Date: June 23, 1999
ISBN: 0-312-19344-0
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1999
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
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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