Absolute Monarchs

A History of the Papacy

By: John Julius Norwich

Narrated by: Michael Page

Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

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.

Norwich, who knew two popes and had private audiences with two others, recounts in riveting detail the histories of the most significant popes and what they meant politically, culturally, and socially to Rome and to the world. He presents such brave popes as Innocent I, who in the fifth century successfully negotiated with Alaric the Goth, an invader civil authorities could not defeat, and Leo I, who two decades later tamed (and perhaps paid off) Atilla the Hun.

Here, too, are the scandalous figures: Pope Joan, the mythic woman said (without any substantiation) to have been elected in 855, and the infamous "pornocracy", the five libertines who were descendants or lovers of Marozia, debauched daughter of one of Rome's most powerful families.

Absolute Monarchs brilliantly portrays such reformers as Pope Paul III, "the greatest pontiff of the sixteenth century", who reinterpreted the Church's teaching and discipline, and John XXIII, who in five short years, starting in 1958, "opened the church to the the twentieth century", instituting reforms that led to Vatican II. Norwich brings the story to the present day with Benedict XVI, who is coping with a global priest sex scandal.

Epic and compelling, Absolute Monarchs is the astonishing story of some of history's most revered and reviled figures, men who still cast light and shadows on the Vatican and the world today.

©2011 John Julius Norwich (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Norwich doesn't skirt controversies, ancient and present, in this broad, clear-eyed assessment." ( Kirkus)

A MUST for history lovers!!

From BC to AD, it's a page turner. You just can't sleep thru this one!

History this big is going to be pretty dense.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, but with a clear warning that I'm not a Catholic and largely ignorant of the Catholic faith. Despite this, I have my own faith that can be sensitive when I feel that people who don't understand the underpinnings of my faith choose to criticize it. From that perspective I believe Mr. Norwich gives a good balance between respecting the faith and maintaining his objectivity.Catholicism traces it roots back to the Roman Empire. After 2,000 years and 266 popes (not including the periodic anti-pope) it shouldn't be a surprise that some popes didn't live up to what we in the 21st century view as the papal ideal. Every pope is a creature of his time and upbringing. To a non-Catholic, Mr. Norwich seems sensitive to this reality and frequently tries to give his subjects the benefits of the doubt rather than resorting to hind-sighted criticism (though his editorial spirit does seem to get more pointed toward modern popes.)

What other book might you compare Absolute Monarchs to and why?

This book is much like David Starkey's Crown & Country which crams an enormous amount of history (in Starkey's case the history of the English crown) into a very small tome. As such, there are often times stretches where rather bland periods seem over-discussed and deep and complex historical pivot points seem to be overly-abridged. These are the view from 30,000 feet histories. They act more as maps to future readings where I can dig deeper into the people and places touched upon.

What about Michael Page’s performance did you like?

Mr. Page's reading gives the book an intellectual and dignified air that is befitting both the subject and the nature of the book. This can lead to some stretches feeling a bit stuffy (a little too much college seminar feel) but on the whole an appropriate companion for Mr. Norwich's writing style.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This is a very dense volume. There are a lot of names, dates, ancient offices, principalities and periods of history that most lay persons (like me) are simply not familiar with. Going from ancient Rome to the 21st Century is a lot of ground to cover in one sitting. The Chapters, however, provide very reliable start and stop points along the way.

Any additional comments?

Overall a very impressive volume covering a lot of material. A great survey of one of the most power, durable, and influential institutions in human history. There are some dry moments, but I believe as a person largely unfamiliar with Catholicism, it has given a lot of insight into the Church and it's beloved pontiff.

Like listening to a History Teach drone on and on

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

There was no life to this book. There were just facts and facts and facts.

What could John Julius Norwich have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I am cognizant that it took him a long long time to collect the data. But it is so boring. Listening to the straight facts with no humanity or life to the stories is just very hard to take in. He would indicate that this was a great pope, example Gregory, but then it was just a few dry paragraphs of facts and he was on to the next one? I don't get it.

Would you be willing to try another one of Michael Page’s performances?

Yes. It wasn't his fault that what he was reading was as dry as the desert. He did as good of a job as he could with what he had. I can't imagine what it must have been like for him to read hours and hours and hours of plain history.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Lots of facts. If someone was looking for straight facts, although it would be hard to pin point where anything was if you were looking for a specific pope.

Not a Story

This is basically a chronology of the popes. There is a lot of names and dates, but not much else.

A narration of evil men

To understand this book, one has to be familiar with European history. This book is a narration of the different popes, their evil ways to achieve their ambitions and power. No mention of the good they may have accomplished during their papacy. I’m amazed how the Catholic Church is still around and has the most number of followers today having been led by almost 2 centuries of evil and power hungry men.

Too Much Info

I think I should have known better; I have a hard time keeping track of names so why did I think I could follow along with the history of the papacy? That’s over 200 people!

I didn’t think the pre-renaissance era would interest me that much - and I was right - still, I was hoping for some interesting tidbits or factoids while waiting for the stories of the Borgia Pope and Julius II etc to come around. Sadly, I didn’t find that section much better.

Disappointed by the renaissance Popes, I thought the era of the enlightenment would be better – nope.

I then looked forward to the modern era, including Italy’s unification, WW2, Nazi sympathizing Pope, murder of JPI, the amazing strides taken by JPII etc … all underwhelming.

It was all just too jumbled for me. I am not going to retain ANY of the information and that’s too bad because I am interested in the subject! Reading about it all was just too dry; I would have retained much more information had it been a multi-part TV documentary series.

Lack of theological knowledge

The author, Norwich, has a real lack of basic knowledge of the Christian faith, let alone the Roman Catholic faith. A bit disappointed.