A conspiracy within the Vatican—to stop an outspoken pope
In 1938, Pope Pius XI was the world's most prominent critic of the Nazi party. To make his voice heard, Pius called upon an American Jesuit, John LaFarge, to write a papal encyclical—the Vatican's strongest decree—publicly condemning Hitler's murderous campaign.
But conservative members in the Vatican like Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli toiled in secret to suppress the document from appearing. Pacelli, who would become Pope Pius XII, colluded with others to keep the finished encyclical from reaching the increasingly ill Pope.
Peter Eisner, award-winning reporter and author of the critically acclaimed The Freedom Line, reports shocking new evidence (released only recently from Vatican archives) of this deceit. An astonishing tale of intrigue and sedition, The Pope's Last Crusade is a compelling journey into the heart of the Vatican. A truly essential work, it brings new light to one of the most critical junctures in modern history.
About the Author :
Peter Eisner is a deputy foreign editor at the Washington Post. He served as a foreign editor at Newsday from 1985 through 1989 and as the paper''s Latin America correspondent from 1989 through 1994. He was also a reporter, editor and bureau chief with the Associated Press. Eisner won the InterAmerican Press Association Award in 1991 for his investigations of drug trafficking in the Americas. He lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
Review :
"Like the cinema classic "Casablanca," this is a gripping saga of undercover resistance, dangerous intrigue and inspiring courage in Nazi-occupied territory in World War II. . . . Eisner has given us an exhilarating account of harrowing danger, betrayal and heroism, one with a hint of romance and with the ultimate triumph of freedom and justice. It is a fine book, and it could be a great movie." - Washington Post
"The French resistance--intimate, edgy, hour-by-hour and in the room with them. Peter Eisner's The Freedom Line is the real thing--because he lets these people, who did this extraordinary thing, tell their own story." - Alan Furst
"This is a story that can lift your heart or plunge it into woe--an amazing human tale that was never told before." - Richard Ben Cramer, author of How Israel Lost and DiMaggio
"A prizewinning reporter has discovered the dramatic experiences of men who save the lives of downed Allied airmen and related them here in a compelling fashion. This is a badly needed fresh addition to the literature of World War II." - David Kahn, author of Codebreakers and Hitler's Spies
"Turn a crack investigative reporter like Peter Eisner loose on one of the Second World War's most thrilling but little know operations and the result is a book that you cannot put down. The story of the Comet Line, an organization of resistance fighters in occupied Europe, and the way they risked their lives to rescue Allied airmen, mostly Americans, who had been shot down, is not only history at its best but also at its most inspiring." - Phillip Knightley, author of The First Casualty and The Master Spy: The Story of Kim Philby
"An exciting reminder of how Vatican machinations continue to haunt history." - Kirkus Reviews
"Gripping. ... Finally, the story of a lost opportunity that could have affected the course of history can now be told." - Voice of Reason
"Engrossing. ... Lively." - Library Journal
