Although it is called a concise history, the book is nearly 520 pages long. Its great strength is its readability. For a serious reader with some background knowledge there is never a dull moment. I finished the book in two weeks. This book is written from the perspective of a liberal catholic. The author sees the reforms initiated by Vatican II as the Church's finest moment. He is worried about the centralizing tendencies of the Papacy and the doctrinal orthodoxy of the Church. The major we...