Pontifex Maximus: A Short History of the Popes

The author has taken a very difficult subject and made it seem so easy. As a practicing Catholic, this book was met with a mixture of scorn and disbelief. It is hard to believe the amount of corruption and immoral activities the leaders of the Church got away with. Certainly can not describe those popes as godly people. Yet, after so many evil acts in the name of the Church, the Church still stands and is attempting once again to right the ship. A fantastic read. You will laugh at times, You will cry at times, but you will not be able to walk away.

While at times interesting and eye opening, it was clear from the very beginning that the author was not only a non-Catholic, but seems to have a certain amount of hatred for the Church. He focuses entirely on the dark side of the Church and regularly omits certain details that would shine a softer light on the various popes he presents as horrible men.With the subtitle "A Short History of the Popes," I had expected an objective book about the papacy. That is not what I got. Instead, the book is full of the author pontificating on the perceived unreasonableness of the Church's stance on birth control, the appropriateness of various canonizations, and Catholic doctrine. He regularly denigrates conservative Catholics, even going so far as to compare them to hard-core communists, you know, the ones responsible for over 100 million deaths in the 20th century.I read the whole book because I wanted to know more about the popes. However, I wish I'd stopped reading the book after the first chapter, as all it did was irritate me.If you're looking for an objective history of the popes, look elsewhere. If you want to read liberal anti-Catholic propaganda, this is the book for you.

Recommend to: I would only recommend this book to people that already have some understanding of the formation of the church, western history in general, and more importantly the ability to read critically.What I enjoyed: this book helped plug some historical gaps.What I didn’t enjoy: the author fails to contain his contempt and his judgement. While everyone is entitled to opinion, a book titled “a short history” should attempt at presenting facts and history, instead it is a string of judgement after judgement. As a former member and student of the church’s theology and history, I am very critical of a great many aspects and events, so I wasn’t expecting a hagiography at all, what I also wasn’t expecting was to be able to feel the author’s anger and contempt as I read his work.

I nearly did not buy this book because several reviewers suggested that there was a very strong anti Catholic bias. I had indeed started to read and then abandon a number of other books on the history of the church simply because of blatant bias.However this book is not in that category. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting an overview of 2 millennia of Catholic / Christian history. The subject is so vast that it would many volumes to it justice. This book is a good starting point and I just wish I had discovered it earlier

This non-Catholic author presents a highly critical history of the popes focused on the negative aspects of behavior and shortcomings. For example, the chapter on Pope Benedict XVI did not even mention his many writings, which will be read well into the future. Now clearly, there are many, many things the Church and the Popes have not done well or in the spirit of Church teachings (we can all provide our own list!). However, the Church has survived the fallibility of many leaders. As an Episcopal priest of my acquaintance once said: “It is only through the active intervention of the Holy Spirit that the Church has survived at all.”A more balanced presentation would have been appreciated. Disclosure: I converted to Catholicism in 1990.

Wonderful overview of the culture of the Vatican through the ages. I enjoyed it very much, and especially since much of what I read had been pretty well ignored, or suppressed by the church when I was growing up. If many of these popes were considered infallible at the time, this is proof that they were and are, just men. A few great ones, but mostly avaricious and grasping.

Very good info with an honest portrayal of the popes especially with Pius 12 thru to Francis showing much of the corruption exposed how they made john Paul 2 a saint who buried his head in the sand for over 25years we now know why the Catholic Church is crumbling to the ground may need to burn it down and start over

This may be called a 'short history' but it is rather long. It has been informative and somewhat depressing. So much deceit, crime, murder and incompetence in the long list of Popes. How has the Catholic Church managed to survive and still honor the office of the Pope today. The only problem is that the brief history of each Pope centers on their bad deeds and seldom mentions anything good. It should be entitled "A Negative History of the Papacy."

An entertaining canter through the history of the Papacy. This book seems to strike the right balance between providing enough detail to inform readers properly and to keep their attention, but not so much information that readers get bogged down. With such a massive topic, striking this balance is an achievement. I found Pontifex Maximus to be a real page-turner - fascinating and informative. Given that the papacy and the Christian church have played such central roles in the development of Western civilisation and culture, this book has much to teach us about the history of the past 2000 years - as well as about society today. And the topic is of such relevance the book is of interest to everyone.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It wasn't too heavy but I did find the "foot notes" a bit distracting. Filled with factual revelations and amazing insight into the early RC church. It's taken almost 2,000 years but the truth is now being fully realised. Hmmm, to think, in my mid teens, I had aspirations to seek ordination... Thankfully I realised the loathsome and horrible hypocrisy the catholic church used to its own end.

A really good read about a very big subject that opens the door on much of the dark side of the Vatican, but that while not delving in any great depth into any of the catholic leaders will certainly make for a good starting point for any that wish to delve into the murky past of the church. This is by far the best that I have come across on the subject thus far and really enlightened me on much of the history of this branch of the Christian faith. A very good read.-A1

Having read several similar histories, this version takes a more progressive approach. Previous 'histories' took a 'pope-by-pope' approach, which were informative, if a little dry. This version is more discussive, drawing the reader into the emerging story, without losing sight of the facts. For such an historical, non- fiction release as 'a good read' is unusual. But it is.

I have not finished the book but I have found it to be very interesting and readable. The author has tried hard to give the names of Popes and Roman Emperors in a logical order but keeping track of them all is not necessary to get the general story of how the Church and Bishopric of Rome has evolved from the very start. The book is purely about the history and does not promote any type of theology or religious standpoint.