A comprehensive and compelling account of the life and work of Pope John Paul II. The only account of his life to be written with the Pope's co-operation reveals a remarkable and unique person. When the Holy Father first asked George Weigel to write his biography he said: "You have the interior disposition to do this...you know my mind". Drawing on unique access to Vatican papers and based on extensive interviews with the Pope himself, George Weigel draws together the two main strands of the ministry of the head on the Catholic Church.