In God's Name - David Yallop

My bookshelves have been groaning under the weight of tomes which have received from me only the most cursory of  attention, and I am in the process of revisiting many of these works.  Once such has been In God's Name,  by David Yallop.

This book is ostensibly an investigation into the death of Pope John Paul I, but by necessity its tentacles spread into many aspects of Italian, and indeed world, history and politics.  My renewed interest in this work was in part prompted by my continuing fascination with aspects of the Italian political scene from the late Sixties through to the early Eighties.

Yallop's writing style is unlikely to be to everyone's taste, being quite earnest and emotive in places, but few can doubt that he outlines his findings with genuine passion,conviction and fearlessness.  The research which he undertook in this case was clearly thorough, persistent and wide-ranging.

Whether or not the author succeeds in fully persuading the reader of the merits of his arguments and conclusions will be a matter for personal judgement, but this book constitutes a powerful and thought-provoking probe.