A Pope and a President: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Extraordinary Untold Story of the 20th

Even as historians credit Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II with hastening the end of the Cold War, they have failed to recognize the depth or significance of the bond that developed between the two leaders.

Acclaimed scholar and bestselling author Paul Kengor changes that.

In this fascinating book, he reveals a singular bond—which included a spiritual connection between the Catholic pope and the Protestant president—that drove the two men to confront what they knew to be the great evil of the twentieth century: Soviet communism.

Reagan and John Paul II almost didn’t have the opportunity to forge this relationship: just six weeks apart in the spring of 1981, they took bullets from would-be assassins. But their strikingly similar near-death experiences brought them close together—to Moscow’s dismay.

Based on Kengor’s tireless archival digging and his unique access to Reagan insiders, A Pope and a President is full of revelations. It takes you inside private meetings between Reagan and John Paul II and into the Oval Office, the Vatican, the CIA, the Kremlin, and many points beyond.

Nancy Reagan called John Paul II her husband’s "closest friend"; Reagan himself told Polish visitors that the pope was his "best friend." When you read this book, you will understand why. As kindred spirits, Ronald Reagan and John Paul II united in pursuit of a supreme objective—and in doing so they changed history

• What Is Heaven?
• The Divine Plan: John Paul II, Ronald Reagan, and the Dramatic End of the Cold War
• Dupes: How America's Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century
• From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church
• The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism
• The Day Is Now Far Spent
• Christus Vincit: Christ's Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age
• Takedown: From Communists to Progressives, How the Left Has Sabotaged Family and Marriage
• Infiltration: The Plot to Destroy the Church from Within
• The Fisherman's Tomb: The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search