A Pope and a President, Paul Kengor
A Pope and a President, Paul Kengor
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A Pope and a President
John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th Century

Author: Paul Kengor

Narrator: James Anderson Foster

Unabridged: 23 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/20/2017


Synopsis

Even as historians credit ­Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II with hastening the end of the Cold War, they have failed to recognize the depth or significance of the bond that developed between the two leaders.

Acclaimed scholar and bestselling author Paul Kengor changes that. In this fascinating book, he reveals a singular bond—which included a spiritual connection between the Catholic pope and the Protestant president—that drove the two men to confront what they knew to be the great evil of the twentieth century: Soviet communism.

Reagan and John Paul II almost didn't have the opportunity to forge this relationship: just six weeks apart in the spring of 1981, they took bullets from would-be assassins. But their strikingly similar near-death experiences brought them close together—to Moscow's dismay.

A Pope and a President is the product of years of research. Based on Kengor's tireless archival digging and his unique access to Reagan insiders, this book reveals captivating new details on a relationship that changed history.

About Paul Kengor

Paul Kengor, PhD, is the New York Times bestselling author of God and Ronald ­Reagan, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, 11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative, Dupes, The Communist, and other books. A professor of political science and the executive director of the Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College, he has written for a range of popular and scholarly publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Review, Political Science Quarterly, Christianity Today, the National Catholic Register, and the National Catholic Reporter. Kengor has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, NPR, C-SPAN, and many other outlets. He and his family live in ­Pennsylvania.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sarah on May 15, 2018

Paul Kengor’s exhaustive Cold War chronicle focuses mainly on the Pope and President in the title, Pope St. John Paul II and US President Ronald Reagan. But larger than life though these two are, the story Kengor here tells is bigger even than them. Other key roles go to FDR, Pope Pius XII (previous......more

Goodreads review by Marge on October 01, 2017

Anyone remotely interested in the Cold War would love this well researched book. John Paul II and Reagan were the primary reasons for the fall of Communism. This book will let you in on every detail - sometimes repeating itself- but it was fascinating. If you are a student of modern history this boo......more

Goodreads review by Chris on July 02, 2017

Very repetitive book. The book should have been cut in half. Not that it wasn't an interesting premise - that together President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II were instrumental in bringing about the demise of the Soviet Union and Communism. This is common knowledge and you could make a good ca......more

Goodreads review by Sammy on December 22, 2017

This is very well researched and offers a lot of new insights on the relationship between these two incredible men of history. What I learned was very insightful and inspiring, which is why I'm giving it 3 stars. The writing style (repetitive and verbose at times, with a tendency to elevate the auth......more

Goodreads review by Ken on September 23, 2017

Mr. Kengor tells the story of the unreported relationship between Ronald Reagan and St. John Paul II. Though they met in person only 5 times their "kindred souls" worked together to bring the downfall of the "Evil Empire"- communism in the Soviet Union. The author spent over 10 years researching the......more