John Cornwell

¿Fue Pío XII indiferente al sufrimiento del pueblo judío? ¿Tuvo alguna responsabilidad en el ascenso del nazismo? ¿Cómo explicar que firmara un concordato con Hitler? Preguntas como éstas empezaron a formularse al finalizar la Segunda Guerra Mundial, tiñendo con la sospecha al Sumo Pontifice. A fin de responder a estos interrogantes, y con el deseo de limpiar la imagen de Eugenio Pacelli, el historiador catolico John Cornwell decidio investigar a fondo su figura. En los archivos vaticanos, donde tuvo acceso a documentos desconocidos hasta ahora, encontro exactamente lo contrario a lo que buscaba: pruebas irrefutables de su antisemitismo y de su responsabilidad en el estallido de las dos guerras mundiales. Lejos del sensacionalismo, esta devastadora biografia examina la carrera eclesiastica de Pacelli con un impecable rigor, lo que hace aun mas demoledoras sus conclusiones. El profesor Cornwell plantea unas acusaciones acerca del papel de la Iglesia en los acontecimientos mas terribles del siglo, incluso de la historia humana, extremadamente dificiles de refutar.

THE PONTIFF IN WINTER is a critical assessment of the life and legacy of Pope John Paul II by the author of the best-selling HITLER''S POPE. John Cornwell, a former seminarian who has written for many Catholic publications, shows how John Paul was an agent for historical change in the 20th century, most notably in his support of the Polish church, whence he came, and in the downfall of the Soviet Union, in which it is generally believed he played a key role. Cornwell acknowledges the impact of the most traveled Pope in history as he directly and personally ministered to the faithful around the world, but he also addresses controversial major issues, including the role of women, relations with other religions, the stand on AIDS and contraception, and, perhaps most importantly, the centralization of authority in his office. In Cornwell''s view, John Paul''s legacy is the autocratic way in which he has exercised his power, and he offers an alternative vision: a church comprised of communities of the faithful. The most interesting aspect of this book is Cornwell''s examination of the Pope''s millennial vision and its connection with to the failed assassination attempt on May 13, 1980, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima--an event John Paul connected to the third revelation of Fatima, which, when it was made known to the world in 2000, seemed to preordain the event (though Cornwell points out discrepancies). Cornwell also writes interestingly and knowledgeably about the importance of symbol and about John Paul''s profound sense of theatre, uncovering statements, actions, and events that have powerful meanings below the surface. Finally, he shares juicy details and insider accounts that reveal much about Vatican politics, the trappings of office, and the sometimes fallible man who was Karol Wojtyla.

In a rich and fascinating history John Cornwell tells the epic story of Germanys scientists from the First World War to the collapse of Hitlers Reich. He shows how Germany became the worlds Mecca for inventive genius, taking the lions share of Nobel awards, before Hitlers regime hijacked science for wars of conquest and genocidal racism. Cornwell gives a dramatic account of the wide ranging Nazi research projects, from rockets to nuclear weapons; the pursuit of advanced technology for irrational ends, concluding with with penetrating relevance for today: the inherent dangers of science without conscience.

The Late John Paul II was portrayed by admirers as one of historys great popes. But in The Pope in Winter, leading Vatican expert John Cornwell seriously questions the workings of his papacy and points to fundamental flaws - exacerbated by age and infirmity - that have alarming consequences for both the Catholic Churchs future and John Paul IIs successor.

Quand Hitler arrive au pouvoir en 1933, l’Allemagne domine le monde des sciences. Mais une fois le régime nazi implanté, la science, instrumentalisée à des fins idéologiques et racistes, connaît une

On Tuesday morning, 23rd September 1975, the corpses of three unmarried siblings, last surviving members of the ancient Luxton clan of Winkleigh, North Devon, were found on their remote farm. All three had had their heads blown off. Robbies cheeks and neck had been stabbed; Frances had a broken leg. Strangely, each of the four doors to the house had been locked from the inside.The Luxtons idyllic farm on a stretch of lush countryside between Exmoor and Dartmoor had been lovingly tended with outdated methods. There were rumours of a thwarted betrothal, wrangles over money and property, generational feuds in the extended family, bouts of insanity and extreme miserliness.John Cornwells classic investigation into the violent deaths of these unhappy siblings told a story of a farming family struggling under unbearable practical and emotional pressures, their violent deaths, the police investigation and the proceedings of the inquest. The official verdict was that there had been a suicide pact, but Cornwell decided to revisit the evidence forty years after Earth to Earth was first published, and he finds that there were anomalies in the evidence suggesting alternative, criminal scenarios, and the misery that preceded these savage deaths suggested even darker elements.Were the Luxtons scapegoats of local malice, or victims of a murderous family conflict, stricken by a dire ancestral curse?This new edition of a true crime classic includes a postscript in which the author describes the extraordinary lengths that the great poet Ted Hughes, a neighbour of the Luxtons, went to try and suppress publication of the book.

One of the most extraordinary memoirs of recent years, the acclaimed writer John Cornwell has finally written his own story, and the story of a choice he had to make between the Church and a life lived outside its confines.John Cornwell decided to become a priest at the age of thirteen, a strange choice perhaps for a boy whod been sent to a convalescent home for having whacked a nun about the head. Growing up in a chaotic household, sharing two rooms with his brothers and sisters, his hot-headed mother and when he was around absconding father, John spent his time roaming the war-torn streets of London looking for trouble. One day, at his mothers suggestion, he responded to a call from his local parish priest for altar servers. The dance of the rituals, the murmur of Latin and the candlelit dawn took hold of his imagination and provided him with a new and unexpected comfort.He left post-war London for Cotton, a seminary in the West Midlands. In this hidden, all-male world, with its rhythms of devotion and prayer, John grew up caught between his religious feelings and the rough and tumble of his life back in London; between seeking the face of God in the wild countryside around him and experiencing his first kiss; between monitoring his soul and watching a girl from a moving train whose face he will never forget.Cornwell tells us of a world now vanished: of the colourful community of priests in charge; of the boys and their intense and sometimes passionate friendships; of the hovering threat of abuse in this cloistered environment. And he tells us of his struggle to come to terms with a shameful secret from his London childhood a vicious sexual attack which haunts his time at Cotton.A book of tremendous warmth and humour, Seminary Boy is about an adolescents search for a father and for a home.

¿Fue Pío XII indiferente al sufrimiento del pueblo judio? ¿Tuvo alguna responsabilidad en el ascenso del nazismo? Lejos del sensacionalismo, esta devastadora biografía examina ña carrera eclesiástica de Eugenio Pacelli con un impecable rigor, lo que hace aun mas demoledoras sus conclusiones. El profesor Cornwell plantea unas acusaciones acerca del papel de la iglesia en los acontecimientos mas terribles del siglo, incluso de la historia humana, extremadamente dificiles de refutar.

Durante los años treinta y cuarenta, la Alemania nazi protagonizó un despegue fulgurante en las ciencias y las tecnologías que transformó espectacularmente el desarrollo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial y, a la postre, condujo a la fabricacion de las armas de destruccion masiva y sus elementos de transporte, los misiles balisticos. John Cornwell nos narra, ademas de un periodo trascendental de la historia contemporanea, la actividad de los cientificos alemanes, desde el ascenso de Hitler al poder en 1933 hasta su derrota en 1945. Con ello nos permite conocer el comportamiento de los investigadores en el campo de las especialidades cientificas en las que Alemania sobresalio hasta colocarse a la cabeza del mundo. Algunos de esos investigadores eran nazis convencidos y entusiastas, pero muchos otros fueron simples compañeros de viaje. Algunos, pocos, opusieron resistencia o se rebelaron contra el regimen y sus esfuerzos hicieron que el conflicto se prolongara. La incapacidad de traducir tecnologia punta en logros militares es una caracteristica esencial de la historia universal, mientras que la denigrante explotacion de las victimas de los campos de la muerte y de una mano de obra en regimen de esclavitud constituye una deshonra para la comunidad cientifica que trabajo al servicio del Tercer Reich. Pero, en realidad, el inquietante libro de Cornwell formula preguntas acerca del comportamiento de los cientificos en general, sin distincion de nacionalidad ni ideologia, y amplia su perspectiva hasta la Guerra Fria y la lucha contra el terrorismo.