by Jim Lawlor

This is the first volume of the authorised biography of the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI. An immediate temptation in reading this volume is to think that we know this story; the long-serving prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, doyenne of traditionalist Catholics and, of course, the Pope who resigned. In fact, this substantial first volume goes a long way in telling the story of Joseph Ratzinger before he enters our consciousness.