Book review

As every good historian does, Brennan Pursell, in his Benedict of Bavaria: An Intimate Portrait of the Pope and His Homeland (Circle Press, 2008), looks to the past in the hopes of glimpsing into the future.

Pursell spends more than half of his book exploring the life of then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger summarizing not only the story of his life but the personality of the Holy Father, as well. Using the information gleaned from the life of Pope Benedict XVI up to the point of his writing, Pursell offers several observations about what might be expected in the future of this Pontificate.

By devoting special and careful attention to the attitudes and culture of the people of Bavaria (which comprises by far the best portion of the book), Dr. Pursell offers a compelling biography of Pope Benedict XVI in a manner unlike any other biography of the Supreme Pontiff.

In addition to the biographical sketch he provides, Dr. Pursell also provides summaries of the Holy Father’s major written works, the Apostolic Journeys he has undertaken within and outside Italy, and his two Encyclicals.

Benedict of Bavaria should be the first stop for those who seek to know more about the person of Pope Benedict XVI.