Peggy Noonan

I just finished reading John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father by Peggy Noonan. I had reading a book about Pope John Paul II on my "to do" list for a long time. Earlier I had read her book What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era. Both books left me somewhat cold for similar reasons. Frankly, when she exceeds essay or article length, she becomes disorganized and loses focus. I expected better this time and was again disappointed. I added to the first paragraph of the review: "The book is a combination of an (almost) hagiography mixed down with an annoying amount of "author intrusions" concerning her views on various theological and political issues."

Pope John Paul II was a historical great. He was unusually courageous during the Holocaust in maintaining close friends among Jewish people. As Pope, on behalf of the Vatican he recognized the State of Israel. Noon diluted the greatness of her subject with personal meanderings. Indeed, a few times she said, in the book, "now, let's return to John Paul." Nowhere was there discussion of the sheer bravery in befriending Jews during Holocaust-era Poland, the country with the highest ratio of its Jews murdered. The book did admirably cover the Church's pedophilia scandals. The book also gave a surprisingly good overview of Europe's manic self-immolation in the course of two world wars.

The timing of my reading the Peggy Noonan book was the completion of Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews, by James Carroll. Constantine's Sword was a powerful history of the Roman Catholic Church. About the only thing it didn't mention was the pedophilia scandals and the high-living lifestyle of some of the Archbishops and Cardinals. Both of those were discussed by Peggy Noonan, so I have to give the book a "three." I will say I almost put the book down until the chapter on the pedophilia scandals, called "The Great Shame." The drawback of the book is I still feel that I don't know as much about John Paul as I wanted to.… (altro)

Let the record show that I loved Peggy's [b:When Character Was King: A Story of Ronald Reagan|83060|When Character Was King A Story of Ronald Reagan|Peggy Noonan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1440334440s/83060.jpg|1194409].

I read this book because Dana Perino spoke highly of it in [b:And the Good News Is...: Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side|22875469|And the Good News Is... Lessons and Advice from the Bright Side|Dana Perino|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1422812040s/22875469.jpg|42439921]. And I have 4 things to say:

1: What revolution, Ms. Noonan? There wasn't much in here about any revolution. And maybe it's because I didn't live through it that I didn't get it but I thought the title was misleading and showcased a manipulated government that didn't care much for it's constituents-- just about keeping them.

2: Ms. Noonan is very talented in regards to writing and speaking. I have heard her speak in public and, as mentioned previously, really liked her other book on Reagan. So what was with all of those parentheses? and the random snippets of experiences? and the (seemingly) unfounded admiration of Reagan. Give me proof, positive facts, and solid experiences that provide a foundation for these beliefs. And, if the asides in parentheses take more than a couple of sentences, write a chapter, dedicate a section, do something besides letting the parentheses take up pages of a section.

3: It was incredibly enlightening (If you're reading Uncle Brad, stop now). I came away from the book loving Reagan as a person but really cynical about the political process. It makes me want to know who really calls the shots and roll my eyes when people rhapsodize about that era. Politics are a mess and I'm pretty sure those Constitutional Convention-ers didn't want party-heads and chiefs-of-staff to run policy. Cause we don't vote for those.

4: The tone comes across as expressing an unhealthy obsession with Reagan the person. Just saying.… (altro)

I picked up this book because Peggy Noonan spoke at a university forum and I was impressed with her clarity and observation.

I continue to be impressed.

This definitely isn't a thorough step-by-step 900-pager like Team of Rivals, but it paints you a lovely picture of a man. She really wants you to love him and writes to that end, so much so that I shed tears when I read about the incident 9 weeks after his election...

(for those of you who were born after the fact, like myself, I won't spoil it)

… (altro)