John Paul II Visits of Hope Fabio Bonacina Vaccari, via Buonarroti, 46 – 41058, Vignola, Italy Ed. 2006 ISBN 88-85335-84-5 Hardbound, 408 pages (full color)

You will find attractive books, useful books, and philatelic books. Rarely do you come upon one that fits all three categories simultaneously. Fabioi Bonacina’s manuscript and publisher’s Vaccari’s designer combined to produce a truly stunning work that is very well presented both for the casual reader (as was I) and the collector of religion or even Pope John Paul II on stamps.

From a philatelic perspective, all stamps that fit the targeted (from the book title) topic are illustrated and specific information provided. Background for the issues is provided. Thus, this book is a stamp catalog.

From a pure information perspective, the various articles … at the beginning and throughout the chapters …provide wonderful insight into an aspect of Pope John Paul II’s papacy that truly helped assure him ample space in world history. Actual photographs are interspersed throughout, and their selection and presentation are spectacular. My own favorite is the full-page photo of the Pope and Mother Theresa. No caption was needed … we know who they are and, from the facial expressions, don’t need any further explanation.

Overall book design suggests a “spare no expense,” but the book’s price suggests otherwise. Thus, I must conclude that some extremely wise decisions were made along the way that has led to this finished work. Even the inclusion of advertisements does not detract from the overall presentation.

Interestingly, the Table of Contents is at the back of the book. beginning on Page 395, rather than the front.. It is a very complete listing, requiring six pages. Am alphabetical “list of the Countries” followings the contents listings. For those who are neither Catholic nor have stayed totally abreast of both the news-when-it-happened nor the issued stamps, such as me, the number of nations in that list is amazing.

With the book’s contents primarily consisting of listings of individual stamps and sets, within the various trips, it is difficult and of little value to comment there. Suffice to say that a travelogue of the journeys might be move voluminous, but would not necessarily convey more of what the reasons were for each trip.

It is rare that you come upon a philatelic book, or one presumed to be philatelic, that possesses so many positive attributes that take it far beyond that single genre. Although small in contract with other books that might be considered “coffee table” quality, this one holds it own among the best as one your guests would pick up first to peruse.

Past Reviews
The Grinnell Hawaiian Missionary Stamps
Tales by Mail - Book 1
The 2003 Catalogue of Queen Elizabeth II British Postage Stamp Errors

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