Saints and Sinners: A History of the Popes Paperback – Import, 1 November 2014

This has to be the go-to volume for anyone wanting to understand the evolution of the papacy and of the Catholic church. Very well researched and written.

The most helpful and concise history of the Church from the beginning to now. Amazing skill to write over 2000 years history into one book. A theology student will find it useful and a general reader will find it entertaining.

The best book on the papacy I have come upon. Duffy is objective, but doesn't gloss over and spare the reader any of the intrigue that has accompanied this institution. It's a piece of high dollar scholarship that is also a page turner. No small feat.

After reading a lot of early European history during the past weeks, I wanted to read a book that would help me understand "who was who" in the papacy during this period and what all of the religious controversies were about. Unfortunately, this book left me as confused about the popes as I was before I read it. The main reason for this is that the events of the Middle Ages are only sketched out in a way that would only make sense to people who already had a good understanding of the period.The book gets better starting with the 19th century. The popes are fleshed out more as are the religious and political issues. The best chapter is the last one as it provides very detailed analyses of the most modern popes. The book provides a useful glossary as well as a nice list of all the popes.

a good read, but a long way yet to go