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Title: Geraldo Does the Papacy!
Review: The legend of Pope Joan is worth a good book. Was there a female pope and, if so, how could she have deceived all the people at least some of the time? If she is a legend, why did the legend start and why did it persist for so long? Stanford's not the man for this. He's another self-absorbed 20th century reporter type who keeps inserting himself into the story and talking down to the reader. Sometimes I thought I was reading his resume's account of his journalistic & research abilities. One of these abilities is not reflection, which is notably absent in this book. What is present is a wishful pushing of his arguments, which hurts his case more than helps it. As the Kirkus reviewer notes, he turns suppositions into facts. Disappointing book.
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