A book that will endure as a spiritual classicAn antidote for some to the wondering and scepticism in the wake of The Da Vinci CodeSold over 50,000 in one day in Italy! So far it has sold half a million overall in that country

'Will make many jaws drop ... a very remarkable book. Jesus was the genius. That is Ratzinger's message, and the luminous intelligence of the exegesis will prompt many to respond with an Alleluia' A.N. Wilson, Sunday Times 'A great deal to reread, to question and reflect upon. This is a theologian on top form. Indeed, this is the best of Professor Ratzinger's many fine books - so far!' Tablet 'Pope Ratzinger is remarkably successful. Jesus of Nazareth really is inspiring in places and will affect all but the most hardened cynics. It is all the better for being written in the usual, crystal-clear Ratzinger style' Irish Independent 'Lingers in the mind ... the Pope is a traditionalist, and his book is especially welcome because of it ... this study is lucidly and simply written, and with no sacrifice of intellectual gravitas or accessibility' Spectator

On April 19, 2005, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope Benedict XVI and became the 264th successor to Peter as the 'Vicar of Jesus Christ'. He may well be the most accomplished theologian to be elected Pope in modern times. From 1981 he spent over twenty years as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a role often depicted as the 'defender of the faith'. Cardinal Ratzinger was also President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and of the Preparatory Commission that codified the new Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994.