The Correspondence of Pope Gregory VII Book

This book reads more like an early history of the Jesuits than a strict biography. Lots of names and dates- more for scholarly than pleasure reading. The best parts were the excerpts from Peter's letters- so inspirational and beautiful. I kind of wish I had been reading his "Memoirs" (straight to the source) instead. I think the author may have had Jesuits in mind as his readers, or else people were more informed in Catholic tradition when he wrote this book in 1958. He talks over and over of the Spiritual Exercises as the core foundation of the Jesuit order but he never describes them at all- if you don't know what they are a little independent research there is a must. The Jesuit spirituality which permeates the book is quite refreshing- one sees that it has changed and/or diminished VERY much in modern times.