A Life with Karol ─ My Forty-Year Friendship with the Man Who Became Pope

Stanislaw Dziwisz was sitting next to the Pope during the assassination attempt in 1981. He recounts the Pope's reaction to 9/11, describing his thoughts and feelings on that day. And the Cardinal's moving description of the Pope's haunting memories of World War II uncovers the roots of the pontiff's intense opposition to George W. Bush's war on Iraq.
The two men shared moments of fun and spontaneity as well. Dziwisz writes about the times the Pope would slip out of the Vatican, wearing a Panama hat, to stroll the streets of Rome, and he describes the clandestine ski and hiking trips the pair made to escape the Vatican. His first-hand account of the Pope's last years also reveals that John Paul II considered resigning. These stories and others lend added poignancy to Dziwisz's portrayal of the Pope's courage and calmness during his final illness.

CARDINAL STANISLAW DZIWISZ was personal secretary to Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul II) in Krakow and in Rome. He was ordained a priest in 1963, was appointed Archbishop of Krakow in 2005, and in 2006 was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI.