CATEGORY

Was the fall of Communism a direct result of a covert confederation between the U.S. government and the Vatican? So claim reporters Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi in His Holiness. Citing meetings between Pope John Paul II and high-level officials in the Reagan administration--including William Casey, director of the C.I.A.--they point to a "secret alliance" as the factor that sealed the collapse of Communism. The evidence marshaled by Bernstein and Politi--ranging from formerly secret American diplomatic cables to formerly secret Soviet Politburo minutei--doesn't always justify their bold conclusion, but it does provide plenty of new information about a key set of events in modern history.