The Human Person According to John Paul II by J. Brian Bransfield

"Bransfield's book is 'required reading' for those interested in the writings of Pope John Paul II on the theology of the body. The author gives valuable insights which will help the reader grow in a personal relationship with God and come to a deeper understanding of self. It is solid theology rooted in spirituality."
-Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond, Archbishop of New Orleans

"This book is approachable. The most compelling reason I have for wanting to stand from my rooftop and trumpet to everyone I know that they should read this book is that it's approachable AND that it makes the whole idea behind Theology of the Body (republished in an expanded form recently as Man and Woman He Created Them), John Paul II's great masterpiece, approachable.

"TOB is a HUGE undertaking to read and an even bigger undertaking to understand and unpack. I've read a host of other authors who have tried it, and who have done well. But this is the first book that I felt like I could hand to my friends, my husband, and my pastor with absolutely no compunction. It's one of the only books I have purchased after receiving a review copy, and one of an even smaller number that I know I'll be buying again.

"There's heavy, deep stuff in this book, because that's the topic, but it's written in a way that makes you comfortable. My husband thought, for the first two-thirds of the book, that I was reading a novel, and his eyebrows were lost in his hairline for a day or two when he found out it was nonfiction.

"The Human Person presents a difficult topic in a very tangible way. There's a reason Jesus spoke in parables, and this book demonstrates that wisdom in its explanation and demonstration of difficult concepts. Bransfield also has a way of linking things together that seem unexpected at first, but that work out to be brilliant together.

"I love how different parts of the Catholic faith are tied into each other, but to think of the Beatitudes and the virtues you're living when you fulfill a beatitude...well, that was a new one for me. And the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Where'd those come from? And what do they mean? I found out in a way that seared it into my mind and made me want to keep going, keep exploring, keep learning.

"What's wonderful about how John Paul II taught about the human person and the body is that he maintained that it's a beautiful thing. Bransfield teased this underlying theme out and explored it using experiences from our common human experience -- at one point, he was talking about young children, at another point, about driving. It read like an ongoing conversation, in some ways, and that made it all the more real to me.

"Bransfield motivates me as a reader. Bransfield's obviously a natural teacher, because he taps into so many different stories and experiences throughout this book, and he also uses other people's wisdom. He references the entire body of John Paul II's work as well as many of the others who have written about it. This book becomes, then, a sort of "best of," written by someone who has a gift for sharing it and making you want to hunt down the source material for more.

"I found myself wanting to ditch my reading pile and just pick up Theology of the Body (both the shiny new one and the old, dog-eared copy) for myself. He made me want to revisit Love and Responsibility and a couple of the encyclicals I've been meaning to reread.

"He made me want to keep learning, keep digging, keep immersing myself.

"He made me want to WAKE UP, and maybe that's the biggest nod I can give any author, especially one writing about such an important and life-changing topic.
-S. Reinhard (snoringscholar.com), Amazon.com customer review