Amazon.com: Parallel Empires: The Vatican and the United States--Two Centuries of Alliance and Conflict (9780385518932): Massimo Franco, Roland Flamini: Books Your Amazon.com Today's Deals Gift Cards Help Shop by Hello. Wish Books Sign in 0 Department Search Your Account Cart List Books Advanced Search Browse Subjects New Releases Best Sellers The New York Times® Best Sellers Children's Books Textbooks Sell Your Books Parallel Empires: The Vatican and the United States--Two Centuries of Alliance and Conflict [Hardcover] Buy Used Massimo Franco (Author), Roland Flamini (Translator) Used - Good See details (1 customer review) | (0) $3.64 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Available from these sellers. Details Fulfilled by Amazon 18 new from $2.89 33 used from $0.01 1 collectible from $5.00 or Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering. Formats Amazon Price New from Used from Kindle Edition -- $19.16 -- 52 used & new from $0.01 Hardcover, Bargain Price $10.40 $4.99 $2.44 Hardcover, January 20, 2009 -- $2.89 $0.01 Have one to sell? Paperback -- -- -- Share your own customer images Share Publisher: learn how customers can search inside this book. Book Description Publication Date: January 20, 2009 The fascinating and highly relevant history of the turbulent relationship between the United States and the Holy See, recounted and analyzed by Italian journalist and Vatican insider Massimo Franco Drawing on unique access to the archives of the Holy See and a range of sources both in Washington, D.C. and Rome, Parallel Empires charts the path of U.S.-Vatican relations to reveal the dramatic religious and political tensions that have shaped their dealings and our world. Starting with the Holy See’s initial diplomatic overtures to the United States in the 1780’s, Franco illuminates a two-hundred-year-old history of alliances, mutual exploitation, and misperceptions. From the nativist anti-Catholicism of the nineteenth century, through JFK’s election as America’s first Catholic president and the cold war anti-Communist partnership between the United States and the Holy See, to the establishment of full diplomatic relations in 1984, the story has never before been told quite like this. With U.S.-Vatican affairs still evolving in the present day, Parallel Empires also details the most recent developments of this ever-changing and often-tenuous relationship, including contemporary disagreements over the Iraq War and engagement with the Islamic world, and the Papacy of Benedict XVI. Parallel Empires leaves no doubt regarding the impact that the struggle between these two great powers—one of secular might and the other of moral influence—has had on both our history and on today’s world. Franco’s insights are sure to have lasting relevance as U.S.-Vatican relations continue to evolve, and with religion’s undeniable influence on everything from domestic elections to international terrorism, his work will prove invaluable in coming years. Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought The Pope Is Not Gay! › Angelo Quattrocchi (3) Paperback $16.38 Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly This study is haunted by the great unanswered question of U.S. relations with Catholicism's tiny citadel—why bother having any at all? For much of its existence, the author notes, a virulently anti-Catholic America didn't bother, and it wasn't until 1984 that Ronald Reagan appointed America's first ambassador to the Vatican. Franco, a columnist for Corriere della Sera, devotes most of his attention to the last three decades, when John Paul II's anticommunism and the emergence of conservative Catholics as a cornerstone of the Republican base raised the Vatican's profile in American foreign policy. Franco susses out harmonies and dissonances in the current relationship: while the Vatican and the Bush administration line up on social issues like abortion and gay marriage, John Paul II irritated the White House by speaking out against the Iraq War and other American adventures, fearing they would nourish global Christianophobia. Franco's is a nuanced, informative look at this relationship, but his styling of the Vatican and U.S. as the West's two parallel empires overstates a marginal dimension of world affairs. (Jan. 20) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review Advance Praise for Parallel Empires http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385518935/theamericansp-20[8/8/2012 5:43:09 PM] Amazon.com: Parallel Empires: The Vatican and the United States--Two Centuries of Alliance and Conflict (9780385518932): Massimo Franco, Roland Flamini: Books “Massimo Franco’s Parallel Empires fills a void in the history of the relations between the Vatican and the United States with an original, accurate, and well-informed book. He shows a deep understanding and knowledge not only of U.S. politics, but of the Vatican as well: a double competence which is a quite rare gift.” —Pio Cardinal Laghi, former Papal Nuncio to the United States “Massimo Franco’s work, burnished by superb research (and unusual access to the Vatican Archives), exposes two centuries of mutual suspicion between a centuries-old moral superpower and a sovereign infant grown to superpower status. It is a must read for ‘Vaticanistas’ and those who track the ascent of the Catholic Church’s relevance in American affairs.” —R. James Nicholson, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See “As a former Ambassador to the Holy See, I consider Parallel Empires a fundamental tool for analyzing U.S.-Vatican relations. It is an intriguing and vivid fresco, depicting the ways Catholic culture was shaped by American society and how they’ve grown together.” —Francis Rooney, former U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See “With intelligence and intellectual curiosity Massimo Franco tells the history of relations between the Holy See and the United States of America. We must congratulate him for such a study. The reader will discover that if there have been points of friction, they have more often been over the means for achieving shared goals rather than the goals themselves.” —Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue “While the ‘big’ U.S. embassy in Rome throws better parties, it’s the ‘little’ embassy to the Holy See where all the action is taking place. Massimo Franco does a great job of getting inside and showing how relations work—and sometimes don’t.” —Greg Burke, Rome correspondent, Fox News “The Holy See and the United States exercise two very different kinds of influence on world affairs, but each in its own way has a real ability to shape human events. Parallel Empires is a wonderfully intriguing look behind the scenes at two hundred years of complex, sometimes positive and sometimes difficult Vatican-U.S. relations. For anyone interested in drilling down beneath the daily headlines of world diplomacy, this is a must read.” —Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver See all Editorial Reviews Product Details Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Doubleday Religion; First American Edition edition (January 20, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0385518935 ISBN-13: 978-0385518932 Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.5 inches Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces Average Customer Review: (1 customer review) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,715,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) Would you like to update product info, give feedback on images, or tell us about a lower price? Customer Reviews (1) 4.0 out of 5 stars Your Amazon.com Toda 5 star 0 Shop by Share your thoughts with other customers Search Books 4 star 1 Department Write a customer review 3 star 0 Books Advanced Search Browse Subjects New 2 star 0 1 star 0 See the customer review Most Helpful Customer Reviews 2 of 3 people found the following review helpful Advertisement Fascinating Dual History August 6, 2009 By Amadeus Format: Hardcover This is a great book that starts with an intriguing premise, a look at the two great "empires" of today - the American, and that of the Roman Catholic Church. While the founding fathers may have Search Customer Reviews been Christian they certainly weren't Catholic and the strained relations between these two empires makes for interesting reading. This is a must read for anyone interested in American-Vatican affairs, or anyone looking for an interesting read. Highly recommended. Only search this product's reviews Comment | Was this review helpful to you? 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