Description
Book SynopsisThe first volume of Peter Seewald's authoritative biography. By any reckoning, the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI was extraordinary, with moments of high drama. Not the least of these was his resignation from office in February 2013, the first papal resignation in 500 years. But who was Joseph Ratzinger? In this definitive biography, based on meticulous historical research and many hours of taped interviews with his subject, Peter Seewald shows the exceptional circumstances in which the exceptionally talented son of a Bavarian policeman became the first German pope for 950 years. In this first volume, covering the years 19271965, we witness Joseph Ratzinger's early days, living above his father's police station. Ratzinger came to adulthood through the years of National Socialism. Though hostile to the rise of Hitler, his family knew well about Dachau and Ratzinger himself was conscripted into the Hitler Youth. Joseph Ratzinger proved to be a man of exceptional intellectual gifts and b
Trade ReviewStimulating ... Readers will enjoy the thorough investigation of Ratzinger’s intellectual development * Publishers Weekly *
Seewald artfully weaves together politics, church history, philosophy, and theology to show how these influenced and shaped the man who would become Pope Benedict XVI ...
An engaging portrait that engrosses the reader in the subject. * Library Journal *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Foreword Part one the boy 1. Easter Saturday 2. The Impediment 3. The Dreamland 4. 1933: ‘Holy Year’ 5. The ‘German Christians’ 6. With Burning Concern 7. The Calm before the Storm 8. The Seminary 9. War 10. Resistance 11. The End Part two the master student 12. Zero Hour 13. The Scholars’ Mountain 14. Guilt and Atonement 15. Upheaval in Thinking 16. The Glass Bead Game 17. Augustine 18. Storm and Stress 19. The Key Reading 20. The Major Orders 21. The Curate 22. The Examination 23. The Abyss 24. The New Heathens and the Church Part three the council 25. A Star is Born 26. The Network 27. Council 28. The Battle Begins 29. The Genoa Speech 30. The Spin Doctor 31. The World on the Brink 32. Seven Days That Changed the Catholic Church For Ever 33. German Wave 34. Power Sources 35. In the School of the Holy Spirit 36. The Legacy Notes Index
