"Fills a big gap among existing reference books....Kelly is not only a distinguished church historian but also an elegant stylist, and the dictionary is very much a book to read or to browse in as well as one to consult."--
The New York Times"A scholarly and useful who's who of popes....Much...can be gleaned from Kelly's fascinating book."--
Times Literary Supplement (London)
"A miracle of compression and balance."--
The Economist"A rich mine of arcane nuggets."--
Time"Extremely well-written....An entertaining read for those of any religion or of none; for the Christian community it is of great significance in these days of ecumenical overtures; for the scholar it is invaluable."--
Church Times"The ideal reference book: Well-written and thoroughly indexed, it also exhibits fine scholarship. Highly recommended."--
Library Journal"A fascinating volume...handy, readable, illuminating....Each entry is a little masterpiece."--
Daily Telegraph"Kelly's portrayals are judicious and succinct....The arrangement makes for ease of reference and invites one to trawl happily for pieces of curious or idle information."--
Country Life"In this book, Kelly fills a real need for a papal who's who. Essential for anyone wishing to mug up a pope, it's chronological arrangement and lively narrative make it readable as history in itself."--
Today"A book for Catholics, a book for Christians, a book for historians, and just about anyone interested in that oldest of all continuous Western institutions, the papacy."--
The Santa Cruz Sentinel