100 books like John Paul the Great

Pope John Paul died when I was just on the cusp of manhood. Sadly, I never really understood who he was until he was already gone. He and Mother Teresa were the faces of Catholicism to me growing up. This book taught me, not just about his life, but the proper perspective on the last several hundred years of human history. While expansive, it is also deeply personal. This is a book I regularly consult for inspiration on leadership, fatherhood, virtue, and all these in the face of overwhelming odds.  

This is the most authoritative, expansive, and beautiful of the biographies of Pope St. John Paul II. Here is the story of the priest from Krakow who brought down Soviet Communism. George Weigel was personally chosen by His Holiness for this task, and it was an excellent choice.      

I love reading about how the strength of conviction, not strength of arms, defeated Communism. The work of these two leaders, John Paul II and President Reagan, was as consequential as that of Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt. A lot of their story is known, but a lot remained unknown... until now. 

This is a fascinating portrait of two world leaders that survived assassination. It is a strange coincidence, don't you think? They did. They believed that they were spared by God as part of the "DP," as Reagan spoke of it: the "Divine Plan" to rid the world of Soviet Communism. It is a fight they have passed down to us, as well.  

St. John Paul II was a prolific author in his own right. I would be remiss if I didn't add one of JP2's books to the list... or two. JP2 wrote many encyclicals as pope, not to mention thousands of homilies. I poured over these to write my own book and collected his insights into Jesus Christ's life.

John Paul II witnessed firsthand the horrors of the 20th century. He barely survived the mechanized evil of Nazism and the work camps of Soviet Communism. Communism created in Pope John Paul the seeds of its own destruction. Crossing the Threshold of Hope is one of the more autobiographical of JP2's writings. He gives his own passionate witness about the existence of God, the dignity of man, and about the purpose of pain and suffering. He talks about evil, eternal life, salvation, and, perhaps most of all, hope. 

St. John Paul II was also a brilliant philosopher and theologian. Here is his answer to errors of our modern age. Here is his antidote to the deconstruction and disintegration of the family, marriage, manhood, womanhood, and even sex, itself. I would list it higher, but it's not precisely about his life—though it is his greatest life's work. Like the falling of small stones that start an avalanche, this book is slowly restoring the world.  

Domber details how Americans aided and supported the Polish trade union movement Solidarity in the 1980s and the ways U.S. assistance was effective in aiding Poland’s democratic transition. Importantly, in Domber’s account, it was the Polish opposition, leading by moral example, who became heroes to Americans inside and outside the government, and American officials in Washington and Warsaw who looked to Solidarity for guidance on U.S. policy rather than the reverse.

This was the first Anthony Doerr book I read—the literary equivalent of eating dessert first. I’ve since savored his novels, but this irresistible feast of delicious morsels of Italian life lingers in my mind. Doerr doesn’t show you Rome. He invites you to live in it with him—during his sleepless nights, in the company of his twin babies, as a beloved Pope lies dying and the seasons bring new enchantments. 

I can’t say whether I love this book more for the writing or for its tender portrait of Rome. Read it for the double pleasures of exquisitely crafted vignettes and a virtual visit to a city that eternally surprises and seduces visitors.  

Bernard Lewis was, in many ways, the founder of modern Middle East studies in the United States. I was fortunate to share a breakfast with him several years ago at a conference, and was so impressed of course by his knowledge, but even more by his graciousness, good humor, and indulgence of younger colleagues, including me. This book is a monumental view not only of the development of Western views of the Middle East, but the development of the academic profession, the relationship of the US to the region, and his progress as a scholar. It’s that rare memoir that diverts attention from the author to broader subjects, while nonetheless allowing readers to identify this historian’s richness of perspective and dramatic lived experiences. 

I picked up this book immediately when I became dean at a Catholic university and poured over the most important primary documents. They cover a crucial period in the history of American Catholic universities, including above all their increasing autonomy. 

The anthology includes the Land O’Lakes Statement and Pope John Paul II’s Ex Corde Ecclesia, which are among the most important modern statements on Catholic higher education.

I have always loved spy thrillers (Tom Clancy, Frederick Forsyth, Robert Ludlum, John le Carre, Jason Mathews) because of the plot's intellectual twists and turns, and with the characters' struggle and moral flexibility necessary to survive. But in most spy thrillers, you know who the good guys are supposed to be. Ludlum’s The Road to Gandolfo (and sequel The Road to Omaha) takes an absurd (but plausible) turn on that contention. The characters are loveable and the comedy (plus thriller are equally) fast-paced. I laughed until I cried on more than one occasion while reading this (these) book(s). 

I am lucky to have lived a few lives – I am a lawyer, was a television consultant and analyst, and am now an author.  But that’s nothing compared to this book’s protagonist, a man who was a medal of honor winner, then a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, then a monk, and finally the Pope. Creatively told and excellently written, this book inspires me to think that anything, any path is possible.