
The Pope Who Would Be King
The Exile of Pius IX and the Emergence of Modern Europe
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Narrated by:
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Will Damron
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By:
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David I. Kertzer
About this listen
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Pope and Mussolini tells the story of the bloody revolution that stripped the pope of political power and signaled the birth of modern Europe.
“[David I.] Kertzer’s brilliant treatment of the crisis in the papacy between 1846 and 1850 reads like a thriller. All the characters, from the poor of Rome to the king of Naples, stand out with a vividness that testifies to his mastery of prose.” (Jonathan Steinberg, The New York Review of Books)
Named one of the best books of the year by the The Christian Science Monitor and The Seattle Times
Only two years after Pope Pius IX’s election in 1846 had triggered great popular enthusiasm across Italy, the pope found himself a virtual prisoner in his own palace. The revolutions that swept through Europe and shook Rome threatened to end the popes’ thousand-year reign over the Papal States, if not the papacy itself. The resulting drama - with a colorful cast of characters, from Louis Napoleon and his rabble-rousing cousin Charles Bonaparte to Garibaldi, Tocqueville, and Metternich - was rife with treachery, tragedy, and international power politics. David Kertzer, one of the world’s foremost experts on the history of Italy and the Vatican, brings this pivotal moment vividly to life.
Praise for The Pope Who Would Be King
“Engaging, intelligent, and revealing...essential reading for those seeking to understand the perennial human forces that shape both power and faith.” (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America)
“Subtle and brilliantly told.” (Christopher Clark, London Review of Books)
“Richly rewarding...church history at its most fascinating.” (The Christian Science Monitor)
“Required, and riveting, reading that shares many of the qualities of Kertzer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece: an exceptionally deep archival and scholarly foundation, and a rare capacity to tell the story of a critical chapter in European history with novelistic verve.” (Kevin Madigan, author of Medieval Christianity)
“A remarkable achievement - both a page-turner and a major contribution to scholarship accomplished with outstanding clarity and economy. Kertzer gives this story a notable degree of freshness and brings out vividly the determination, passions, blood, and gore of this dramatic moment in European history.” (John Davis, editor, Journal of Modern Italian Studies)
©2018 David I. Kertzer (P)2018 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“In this riveting tour de force, David Kertzer shows how and why Pope Pius IX turned Roman Catholicism into the nemesis of modernity, with drastic consequences not only for the church but for the West - consequences felt to this day, when religion and politics form a lethal brew. Elegant writing, the pace of a novel, scrupulous scholarship - these hallmarks of Kertzer’s body of work are all in evidence here, wonderfully so.” (James Carroll, author of The Cloister)
“Kertzer provides an exceptionally deep archival and scholarly foundation and has a rare capacity to tell the story of a critical chapter in European history with novelistic verve. He brilliantly links the history of Italian characters to epochal changes in modern European history, including the changing fortunes of the papacy and its rule over the Papal States, of the time-honored tradition of divine right, and of the separation of church and state.” (Kevin Madigan, author of Medieval Christianity)
“The Pope Who Would Be King is a remarkable achievement - both a page-turner and a major contribution to scholarship accomplished with outstanding clarity and economy. Kertzer gives this story a notable degree of freshness, and brings out vividly the determination, passions, blood, and gore of this dramatic moment in European history.” (John Davis, editor, Journal of Modern Italian Studies)
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Story
Bologna, 1858: A police posse, acting on the orders of a Catholic inquisitor, invades the home of a Jewish merchant, Momolo Mortara, wrenches his crying six-year-old son from his arms, and rushes him off in a carriage bound for Rome. His mother is so distraught that she collapses and has to be taken to a neighbor's house, but her weeping can be heard across the city. With this terrifying scene - one that would haunt this family forever - David I. Kertzer begins his fascinating investigation of the dramatic kidnapping.
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Too much detail
- By L. WILLIAM on 03-03-24
By: David I. Kertzer
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Absolute Monarchs
- A History of the Papacy
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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With the papacy embattled in recent years, it is essential to have the perspective of one of the world's most accomplished historians. In Absolute Monarchs, John Julius Norwich captures nearly 2,000 years of inspiration and devotion, intrigue and scandal. The men (and maybe one woman) who have held this position of infallible power over millions have ranged from heroes to rogues, admirably wise to utterly decadent.
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A relentless succession of very old men
- By Nassir on 11-01-11
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Hitler's Pope
- The Secret History of Pius XII
- By: John Cornwell
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 17 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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When Hitler's Pope, the shocking story of Pope Pius XII that "redefined the history of the twentieth century" (The Washington Post) was originally published, it sparked a firestorm of controversy both inside and outside the Catholic Church. Now, award-winning journalist John Cornwell has revisited this seminal work of history with a new introduction that both answers his critics and reaffirms his overall thesis that Pius XII, now scheduled to be canonized by the Vatican, weakened the Catholic Church with his endorsement of Hitler—and sealed the fate of the Jews in Europe.
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The title is false advertising.
- By Christopher George on 09-19-24
By: John Cornwell
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2,000 Years of Papal History: The History of the Popes, the Papacy, and the Catholic Church
- By: John W. O'Malley
- Narrated by: John W. O'Malley
- Length: 14 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Internationally best-selling author, renowned professor, and the dean of American Catholic Historians, Fr. John O’Malley presents his monumental course on the papacy. This masterpiece series covers the most fascinating history in the Western world. Now, you can trace the amazing history of the papacy, the oldest still-functioning institution of any kind in the Western world in 36 erudite lectures.
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Wonderful Narration!
- By Bob Bortolin on 01-11-20
By: John W. O'Malley
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The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
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Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
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The Reopening of the Western Mind
- The Resurgence of Intellectual Life from the End of Antiquity to the Dawn of the Enlightenment
- By: Charles Freeman
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 27 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Charles Freeman, lauded historical scholar and author of The Closing of the Western Mind (“A triumph”—The Times), explores the rebirth of Western thought in the centuries that followed the demise of the classical era. As the dominance of Christian teachings gradually subsided over time, a new open-mindedness made way for the ideas of morality and theology, and fueled and formed the backbone of the Western mind of the late Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and beyond.
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Fascinating survey of 1,000+ years of thought
- By Roger on 11-07-23
By: Charles Freeman
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Conquistadores
- A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest
- By: Fernando Cervantes
- Narrated by: Luis Soto
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Over the few short decades that followed Christopher Columbus' first landing in the Caribbean in 1492, Spain conquered the two most powerful civilizations of the Americas: the Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru. Hernán Cortés, Francisco Pizarro, and the other explorers and soldiers who took part in these expeditions dedicated their lives to seeking political and religious glory, helping to build an empire unlike any the world had ever seen. But centuries later, these conquistadors have become the stuff of nightmares.
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A fresh mature perspective on the Spanish conquest
- By Chencheno111 on 03-19-22
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The Wages of Destruction
- The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy
- By: Adam Tooze
- Narrated by: Adam Tooze, Simon Vance
- Length: 30 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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An extraordinary mythology has grown up around the Third Reich that hovers over political and moral debate even today. Adam Tooze's controversial book challenges the conventional economic interpretations of that period.
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Book is good but contains bias
- By Heinz-Jürgen MacSwain on 01-29-24
By: Adam Tooze
Many will listen to this book complaining about either what the pope did or didn’t do or what the revolutionaries did or didn’t do and act like they would have done something grand and enlightened. But let’s be honest with ourselves. We would have all likely either acted the same in their situation or maybe worse.
The book itself is interesting and fair if not a bit boring at times and drawn out. It felt like a lot more could have been fit in if somethings had been glanced through a bit quicker. Some parts just seem to drag on forever. You feel like yelling out; get on with it already! Conversation after conversation about the same thing.
Interesting account of historic changes and events
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Enlightenment
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Enlightening read
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The audio
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Honestly, I think the scope of the book is too narrow. This book only really tells a third of the story of Pius IX’s papacy, and thus doesn’t really live up to its title. Important parts of Pius IX’s life and his affect on modernity are left out. How can you talk about Pius IX’s affect on modernity and the Catholic Church while only mentioning the First Vatican Council, the kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, and the final, permanent destruction of the Papal States in a brief epilogue? I think this book would have been better as a biography of Pius IX, covering the entire arc of his life from hesitant liberal to reactionary theocrat to the “prisoner in the Vatican,” and how all of *this* affected the modern world. The broader focus would have told the whole story better than a few books about individual stories from Pius IX’s life.
All of this said, the book is interesting. I recommend it, and I intend to follow up with more of Mr. Kertzer’s books on Pius IX.
Worthwhile, But Too Long And Too Focused
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David Kertzer has a novelist’s ability to draw characters and create suspense. Characters like Cardinal Antonelli, Alexis de Tocqueville and Garibaldi are well-drawn. The pope himself comes across as somewhat tragic, longing for his people’s affection but suffering because of his own weaknesses and his tendency to be manipulated by others.
The history was well-read. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
Like a Suspense Thriller
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Good but difficult
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A good,but weak man who gave in too much.
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a very good review of this time in history
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As with his other books, Kertzer came to this one with an agenda. He is ferociously anti-Catholic and seeks to demonize the Church for its failure to embrace his own 21st-century, liberal, pluralistic worldview in the early 19th century. While every historian approaches his subject with his own philosophical beliefs, good historians will offset these with a fair and sympathetic presentation of the reasons underlying opposing views. Kertzer does not both giving sympathetic or nuanced portrayals of the philosophical and theological beliefs of his historical subjects. In Kertzer's biography of Pius XI (The Pope and Mussolini), this shortcoming is offset by the considerable breadth and depth of historical research that went into that book, but given the extremely limited scope of the present book (The Pope Who Would Be King), the lack of philosophical nuance or even-handedness is a serious deficiency.
The reader did a good job and was hardly noticeable.
Biased and limited in scope
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