The Last Secret of Fatima: The Revelation of One of the Most Controversial Events in Catholic History

I was interested in learning more information about Fatima and Sister Lucia and what was happening politically, economically, etc during the apparitions. This book had some good information but also went on tangents that had nothing to do with Fatima and the "Secrets of Fatima". Because of self-serving tangents, I give this book 3-stars.

First off, the editing of the book needs work. I was reading through the introduction, and kept wondering who had written it. There was nothing at the end of the introduction, nor at the beginning. I finally deduced that it was written by the interviewer (Giuseppe de Carli). This is very confusing. Also, sometimes the questioning seems disjointed, as if the editor mixed up the questions. I thought as well that the book ended rather abruptly. If they were shooting for a similar style as "Salt of the Earth", or "Ratzinger Report" (both interviews with then Cardinal Ratzinger, both of which I have read), they failed miserably at doing a good imitation.Speaking of the interviewer, Giuseppe, he was so aggressive, almost confrontational in his interview style that several times I almost stopped reading and would have except for two things. One was just the sheer information that Cardinal Bertone was sharing, information I had never had knowledge of, or my knowledge was so limited (like the miracles surrounding the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II on pages 51-53). Other good advice was given on apparitions (under 'Medjugorje' pages 92-96). It was also so good to come to know more about Sister Lucia (I expect I'll be picking up her book next) and her most needed common sense. Other worthwhile from the book are the appendices: the secrets themselves, commentary from Cardinal Ratzinger, and Pope John Paul II's act of entrustment.The second thing was the attitude of Cardinal Bertone himself: so common sense, so approachable and accessible. I will be looking for books of his as well.So, I definitely recommend this book but only if you can stand the interviewer's style.

awesome book great price

Very enlightening!

I found the book to be inspiring and reassuring that there is more to life than what the material world would lead you to believe.

a good explanation of a difficult event.

This was one of the most boring books I ever read. The author tried to build to a suspense, but ended up with a flop. I wanted to figure out what was the big deal about Fatima and the Last Secret, as when I went there, I was touched by the devotion and the surrender that I witnessed in some of the pilgrims there. But this book revealed very little that makes you wonder what was the big deal about the last secret in the first place.

While it did take me a week to actually finish The Last Secret of Fatima, due to the fact that I kept misplacing it (I'm thinking the Lord wanted me to ponder on what I was reading). I must say that there are so many things I found to be important in this book. While I may be only moderately familiar with the three secrets of Fatima, I enjoyed seeing the way Fatima helped to shape the life of JPII and his devotion to the Blessed Mother.In a very un-me fashion, I actually put sticky-tabs throughout my copy of this book. Why, because there were so many different aspects of the book and that I knew I'd never remember all the pages/things I would like to bring up in my review.I also found it quite interesting that, from what was mentioned in this book, that more than Christians see the importance of the message of Fatima. While I was caught off guard over that fact, I also found it very interesting as to why non-Christians found the message of Fatima to be of inportance. It would be entirely too lengthy of a discussion to go into the why's, but it was definitely interesting to read about.One of the things I enjoyed most about The Last Secret of Fatima would have to be the way Cardinal Bertone described Sister Lucia because he was able to show the kindness and trust that she had in the Lord. I really enjoyed seeing knowing that while she trusted in Our Lady and her message she was able to maintain her humility at being called to be an instrument for the Lord. Also, from what I've read about her- and I now plan to learn more about her and Fatima- I'm curious to see her own writing and hearing what she personally thought and wrote about her experiences.Even though there are many more things I would like to say about The Last Secret of Fatima and my experience while reading it, I'm afraid I just cannot put into words my final thoughts on this one. Just know this, it was well written and definitely good reading for both those familiar and unfamiliar with Sister Lucia and the apparition of The Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima in 1917.Final Verdict: The Last Secret of Fatima- For me was an eyeopener in regards to Fatima and its message. It was also quite enjoyable because of the way the book is written (i.e not like some boring textbook).The Last Secret of Fatima earns 4 out of 5 griffinsThis review is taken from my blog, The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia.