SHEPHERD OF MANKIND

A professional popular novelist here writes a readable, full length, magazine-serial version of the life of Pope Paul VI from childhood to his ascendancy to the papal ne. It is told within the Framework of key events bearing on the role this churchman has played in history. This is the second ""biography"" to appear since Battista Cardinal Mont was selected to be sovereign Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Apostle for Our Time by Mgr. John G. Clancy (p. 1002) was a glowing portrayal by a man who knew the personally. Novelist Barrett takes a more objective look at the record and bases his representation on interviews and other journalistic research. The result is more fictional but not much more revealing. As is the case with most lives of our new Popes, the man-to-be is only suggested. It is surprising to see that Pope Paul's role in reconvening the Second Vatican Council is not recorded in some way. This would give the book a timeliness.