I am now two-thirds of the way through the book, and I am enjoying it so far, and learning a great deal - with one caveat.
On page 183 of the edition I have (the hardback published by Chatto and Windus in 2008), there is a page of what I can only describe as bigotry against the present Pope. For the author to be so concerned about accuracy, whilst at the same time repeating Flat Earth News rumours about Benedict XIV is shocking.
I am not even a Catholic, but I know that Benedict was forced to be a member of the Hitler Youth, that he was a teenager at the time, that in common with countless other boys, one of them who was a guest lecturer at University of Auckland in 1983 (Hans Mommsen) he joined because it was the only way to keep his family safe.
He never fought for the Nazis as an adult - this all took place towards the end of the Nazi regime.
Further, all assertions to the contrary, it is absolutely not true that Pius XII 'turned a blind eye to the persecution of the Jews'. After the war, Jewish groups thanked him for his help and that of the Church!
This site is American and the grammar is cringe-worthy but the facts are sound:
http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/33d/projects/church/...
This link is a specifically Catholic one, which some might say invalidates it, but I don't agree...
http://www.catholic.com/library/HOW_Pius_XII_PROTECTED_JEWS.asp
Vicky