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The Incredible Book of Vatican Facts and Papal Curiosities | 
 enlarge | Author: Nino Lo Bello
Publisher: Gramercy
Category: Book
Buy New: $9.99
New (2) Used (8) from $5.70
Avg. Customer Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 540496
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 0517220830
Dewey Decimal Number: 262.13
EAN: 9780517220832
ASIN: 0517220830
Publication Date: April 2, 2002
Availability: In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served.
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Product Description
Which pope was a speed demon? What is the pope's salary? Here is a non-sacred treasure trove of fascinating, surprising, and little-known tidbits about the Vatican and the popes, not only for the 700 million Catholics in the world but also for people of other faiths. Includes a time-line of significant dates in Church history, and a glossary of Vatican terms.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
A Fun Book Taken with a Grain of Salt December 12, 2007
There are a few errors and a few contradictions, but overall this is a fun book. Not what I would call scholarly reseach. In fact, I would have only given it three stars but it was so difficult to put it down, it earned the fourth.
 Fun little book, but not source-worthy August 28, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
It's an enjoyable little read, and I think it was a pious undertaking by a nice Catholic man, but the book is littered with errors.
For example, the author wrote in one part that there are 700 million Catholics. However, by the time this book was written, the population of our Church had already reached one billion. This is a simple fact that any scholar knows. So if the author could get that simple detail wrong, what other mistakes might be in there? That's just one of the errors I found, and it's so extremely basic to the point that it's very discouraging to the book as a whole that this fact could have been gotten wrong.
As always, if you do a paper, use multiple sources. If you choose to write a paper on the Vatican and you want to use this book as a source, just be aware that you should use other sources to back it up.
But, for fun reading, this is a good book filled with delightful anectodes. It's not a bad buy.
 Dissapointing September 23, 2005
5 out of 14 found this review helpful
I was expecting a book of fun facts and trivia. What I got was a badly printed pamphlet filled with Catholic propoganda. Not worth the paper it was printed on.
What size shoe did Jesus wear? June 19, 2005
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
If I were a pregnant Roman, there is one challenge in this treasury of trivia that I would not be able to resist. According to the author, Nino Lo Bello, no baby has ever been born in the Vatican. (The timing would have to be just right, but here's some mother-to-be's chance to get into the Guinness Book of World Records.)
Actually, I was rather surprised that no infants at all had been born in the Vatican since some of the popes were not exactly celibate. This author mentions a few who had mistresses and children. He does not skip over the immoral bits, but this book is sweetly gossipy rather than malicious. I can't understand why Vatican officials would have a problem with it. I mean, it could easily make the reading list in a convent. The anecdote that I found most startling concerned the late Pope John Paul II: one of the first things he did upon ascending to the Throne of St. Peter was watch back-to-back showings of "The Exorcist."
Here is a sample of the type of questions you will find answered in this book:
*What size shoe did Jesus wear?
*Over what did the Vatican go to 'war' with another ministate [San Marino in 1978]?
*Which European queen is buried in the Vatican?
*Why didn't Sam Snead get his putter blessed by the Pope?
*Which U.S. comedian was arrested at the Vatican?
Do not neglect to read this book's appendixes, as these are where you will find some of the best anecdotes. The author relaxes out of the question-and-answer format of the previous 162 pages and tells some very interesting stories. One of my favorites is "John Paul II Gives Galileo a Second Chance." There is also a fascinating appendix on "The Making of a Saint," although this author contradicts John Cornwell (author of "Hitler's Pope") in some of the particulars, most especially concerning the continuing existence of a "Devil's Advocate."
Oh, and one of the facts that I thought I knew about the Vatican was firmly contradicted by this author: Michelangelo did NOT design the uniform for the Swiss Guards, as is stated in all the guide books. A Vatican seamstress whipped up the colorful costume in 1914 at the request of the Pope.
Delightful Trivia! May 7, 2005
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
"The Incredible Book Of Vatican Facts and Papal Curiosities" is a delightful collection of Trivia for any Catholic fan. Most of the book is divided into four topical categories. Each question is followed by a short answer, usually consisting of one or two paragraphs. The final section deals with topics which demand a longer explanation than those given in the earlier portions of the book. Whether your goal is to up the scores of your trivia team, prepare for your trip to the Vatican or just enjoy learning about the Church, this short book is a quick and entertaining read.
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