List $22.99

Written by David I. Kertzer - Audio book narrated by Alan Sklar - Unabridged Nonfiction - 1 MP3 COMPACT DISC - 14 hours

Publisher, Tantor Media (November 2004)

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Based on a wealth of documents long buried in the Vatican archives, Prisoner of the Vatican tells the story of the Church's secret attempt to block the unification of Italy and seize control - not in ancient times, but in the late nineteenth century. For more than fifty years, the pope was a self-imposed prisoner within the Vatican walls, planning to flee Italy, to return only as the restored ruler of Rome and the Papal States. The scheme to dismantle the newborn Italian nation involved not only the cardinals and the Curia but also attempts to exploit the rivalries among France, Germany, Austria, Spain, and England.

Kertzer brings to light an untold drama played out among fascinating characters: Pope Pius IX, the most important pontiff in modern history; King Victor Emmanuel, working behind the backs of his own ministers; the dashing national hero Garibaldi; France's ill-starred Napoleon III, and many more. During this time, Italy was besieged from within and without, and Church history changed forever when the pope was declared infallible for the first time. Prisoner of the Vatican looks deep into the workings of the Church in its final bid to regain the pope's temporal power. Kertzer sweeps readers along with riveting, revelatory panache. No one who reads his new book will ever think of Italy, or the Vatican, in quite the same way again.

About the Author: David I. Kertzer is the author most recently of The Popes Against the Jews, which the New York Times hailed as "fascinating . . . [a] riveting piece of historical detective work" and Garry Wills praised as a "formidable scholarly achievement, staggeringly thorough." Kertzer was a finalist for the 1997 National Book Award for The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, which won the National Jewish Book Award. Writing in the New York Daily News, André Aciman said, "Kertzer is a brilliant analyst and knows how to weave the personal drama into the historical events." He is the Paul Dupee University Professor of Social Science at Brown University, where he is also a professor of anthropology and Italian studies.

About the Narrator: Winner of several AudioFile Earphones Awards, Alan Sklar has narrated over 60 audiobooks, including Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden, The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings by Thomas Maier, and Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. The Dartmouth graduate's theatre credits include Hamlet, Taming of The Shrew, The Seagull, and many modern roles. Alan has also narrated thousands of corporate videos for clients such as NASA, Sikorsky Aircraft, IBM, Dannon, Pfizer, AT&T, and SONY.