The long life of John Paul has been an extraordinary journey from his humble origins in Southern Poland to the See of Peter.This biography describes what made Karol Wojtyla into one of the longest serving and best loved Popes in history: the loss of his family at an early age, World War II, the Nazi occupation and Communist rule in Poland, his interest in acting, academic career, vocation and pastoral work. All of which formed him to become a religious, moral and even political figure who towered above all others in the twentieth century.