God's Bankers: A History of Money and Power at the Vatican

Description

A deeply reported, fast-paced expose of the money and the cardinals-turned-financiers at the heart of the Vatican--the world's biggest, most powerful religious institution--from an acclaimed journalist with "exhaustive research techniques ( -- "God's Bankers has it all: a rare expose and an astounding saga marked by poisoned business titans, murdered prosecutors, mysterious deaths of private investigators, and questionable suicides; a carnival of characters from Popes and cardinals, financiers and mobsters, kings and prime ministers; and a set of moral and political circumstances that clarify not only the church's aims and ambitions, but reflect the larger dilemmas of the world's more recent history. And Posner even looks to the future to surmise if Pope Francis can succeed where all his predecessors failed: to overcome the resistance to change in the Vatican's Machiavellian inner court and to rein in the excesses of its seemingly uncontrollable financial quagmire. Part thriller, part financial tell-all, this book shows with extraordinary precision how the Vatican has evolved from a foundation of faith to a corporation of extreme wealth and power.  Read more... Abstract: A deeply reported, fast-paced expose of the money and the cardinals-turned-financiers at the heart of the Vatican.  Read more... Content: Murder in London -- The last pope king -- Enter the black nobles -- "Merely a palace, not a state" -- An unholy alliance -- "The pope banker" -- Prelude to war -- A policy of silence -- The blacklist -- Blood money -- A Nazi spy in the Vatican? -- The ratline -- "He's no pope" -- The men of confidence -- "You can't run the church on Hail Marys" -- Operation Fraulein -- Il crack sindona -- The battle of two scorpions -- "A psychopathic paranoid" -- The year of three popes -- The backdoor deal -- "The Vatican has abandoned me" -- "You have to kill thePope" -- "Tell your father to be quiet" -- "Protect the source" -- "A heck of a lot of money" -- "I've been poisoned" -- White finance -- Suitcases of cash -- Burying the trail on Nazi gold -- "A criminal underground in the priesthood" -- "His inbox was a disaster" -- The kingmaker becomes king -- "As flat as stale beer" -- Chasing the white list -- The world has changed -- The powerbroker -- The butler -- A vote of no confidence -- "A time bomb" -- The Swiss James Bond -- "The people's pope" -- "Back from the dead."