The True Story of the Vatican's Secret Search - The Fisherman's Tomb

I love books on history but especially love such books that are written like a fiction novel. Even if you're not Catholic or even Christian at all, the archeological and historical prose is a fascinating read. Read it in two sittings.

Although the story of the locating of Simon Peter's bones is a marvelous story, I was intrigued at the level of sacrifice required of the early church Christians. No such thing as a so-called Christian here. Their devotion was pure.

I highly recommend this book. This is not a book on religion. This was a fascinating story about the drama of finding, discovering and verifying the bones of St. Peter. The author did a tremendous job of weaving together all the different facts, events and history to make this a book that was really hard to put down.

This was an outstanding book with such incredible information. My husband and I had taken the Scavi tour at the Vatican last fall and I wish we had read this book before we went. After reading this book we want to go back and do the tour again.

It’s a story of international intrigue, a string of 20th Century popes, a Texas oilman, and the search for the actual grave of St. Peter, one of the twelve disciples. Fast paced, with Nazis and Popes lurking at many turns. Five stars.

I did not expect this to be a page turner, but it is. I found it difficult to put down once started. There is not much I can add to the previous 5 star reviews except that I found it fascinating and highly recommend it. Enjoy a good read and learn a great deal about very important history along the way.

I very much enjoyed this book. I don't read nonfiction very often but I'm very glad I read this. The author researched his facts and writes them out for us in a colorful way. Very respectful to all historical and religious figures. Would recommend

The story of the search for the burial place of the apostle Peter is interesting. Unfortunately the author has taken a magazine length article and filled it with slightly related information to create a book. Included in the attempt to stretch the story into a book are many blank pages and page filling photos that could have been smaller in size. As previously states I found the story interesting but the book is disappointing.

I am currently reading The Fisherman's Tomb and find it very interesting when it stays in the subject of the somewhat shoddy methods of the search for the tomb. However, there is also a great emphasis on what the Vatican and particularly two priests did during the war to protect Jews and others from the Nazis. The search continues after WWII and with the introduction of a brilliant woman archaeologist famed for her epigraphic abilities who was able to decipher the various inscriptions in the area of the many tombs that were in the underground passages.
I found one mistake where Bethsaida the home village of Peter was stated to be now in Syria. Bethsaida the tell being excavated by the Bethsaida Excavation Project is located in the eastern side of the Jordan River that was formerly Syrian territory until Israel took control during the 1967 war.

Well when the read! John O'Neill is thorough in telling the details of finding Saint Peter, as well as, so many more bits about history in relation to the main story. Kind of sad I never knew about any of this before now but so glad it had been recorded in such a good read here. What an incredible history! Viva il Papa!

While one's faith should never be established nor destroyed by the introduction of scientific evidence, for a person whose faith is already secure this is a really interesting read about the discovery of the final resting place of Peter the apostle.

Great story, a real page turner! Sadly, my book was delivered damaged. The seller did not adequately protect the book. Books are treasures and should be treated as such. Knowledge is precious.

I've been on the Scavi Tour under the Vatican. This book only made my knowledge of history all the richer and made me appreciate all those who contributed to such a fantastic archaeological find.

This book was worth staying up all night to read.

The story of finding the bones of St. Peter reads like a real page turning adventure story. Written with great skill, the story is compelling, respectful of the characters, clearly fair, and true . I would recommend this to everyone...as interesting as any Indiana Jones story, though lived by real people with real dedication.
Bravo, John O'Neill.

I was taught that St. Peter likely never made it to Rome, more likely going to Babylon, but my teachers were wrong. Babylon lay in ruins in the first century, and a careful study of the NT shows that Paul, Luke, Timothy John Mark and Silvanus all went to Rome... so why not Peter?

Be a woman, a lover of history & a Christian (albeit not of the Roman Catholic branch), I found this book a very good read. That being said, it really makes no difference at all if the bones are those of St. Peter to my faith. Bones are only earthly remains. It is the Spirit that lives in each Believer that is of supreme importance.

I love the author’s writing style. It’s fluid, and entertaining. But it’s also the problem with the book; there’s always a sense that you’ve missed something important, like going to get popcorn during the movie and feeling like you’re disconnected from the story when you return. There’s a parochial feeling, like leaving out the long journey that got Jack from the bottom of the beanstalk to the top. In contrast there are odd repetitions within paragraphs that are so jarring they seem like there was never an editor. Hopefully someone will pull this together someday as a screenplay, it would make a better movie (trilogy) than the book. It’s a fascinating story and I thank the author for telling it. I will add, I never read into it evidence of the the central theme: are these Peter’s bones? It somehow gets lost in the characters personality motifs and that’s unfortunate.

This is a great story but it feels like the author rushed it out as it doesn't read as easily as it should. Sometimes it felt like an over-emphasis on citing statistics rather than telling a great story. It could have really benefited from some detailed diagrams in the text showing the positions of the various walls and other structures discussed (yes, I saw the basic diagrams in the appendices). I saw the 20-minute interview with the author and I expected better.

Since the bones validated by Pope Benedict were never tested for age, we are left were we began, with bones whose identity are unknown. And what difference does it make, since we serve a risen Savior whose bones do not occupy an earthly grave.

Author John O'Neill wasn't going to write another book. One bestseller was enough for him...and you really can't blame him.

However, when he was diagnosed with four distinct types of cancer and then contracted MRSA during treatment, he made a prayer and a promise that he would share the amazing story he had if he didn't die.

I can't help but say a prayer of thanksgiving, because when I picked up The Fisherman's Tomb, my free time was completely consumed with turning the pages.

O'Neill had a pretty intriguing story, but there's as much art in his storytelling talent as there is in the collection of facts he started with.

The story takes place over the course of 75 years, and it involves a rich Texas oilman who gives the equivalent of a blank check to the Vatican. It involves a brilliant scientist for whom being right isn't enough. It also involves a lot of secrecy, a lot of mystery, and a lot of history.

Spoiler alert: They find Peter's tomb. But that's not even the most interesting part of the story, honestly. I'll be sharing this book, because it has such a broad appeal: If you love a good story, this is a book that meets that need.

The only warning I have is to block off some time. You won't want to put it down.

I'm glad I read this. I did not know anything about the controversy over where Peter is buried. However, I found the writing to be poor, and the editing was terrible. There was an unprofessional feel to the total presentation. I regret when I criticize a religious book, but part of writing a review is being honest. I was introduced to a plethora of people I did not know. I found the renowned archaeologist Dr. Guarducci to be admirable in not stooping to the level of the Vatican priest who refuted her findings. All in all this was a learning experience for me. It definitely made me want the answer to further questions. I never heard that Peter was the first pope, maybe it is because I am Presbyterian.

The preface is key to understanding the book. (1) It was written in haste by someone battling with cancer, (2) it was written by a friend of the family of George Strake, who financed the search for the tomb, who wanted to set down the story of the Texas oilman as much as the story of the search. The search for Peter's grave has been written up before, better than O'Neill does, but the story of George Strake's involvement in this and in the Vatican's World War 2 exploits, is new, fascinating and deserving to be written down. It is this combination that makes the book worthwhile.

Still, the haste in which it was written - and I wish John O'Neill all the very best with the great battle that he is fighting - harms the book. The archeological evidence is presented in a sketchy way, which is OK for a book meant to be popular - and the reader is referred to the more solid, earlier sources- but the final question (why were the bones moved from beneath the Trophy to the loculus in the Graffiti Wall?) is too crucial to be glossed over the way he does. Also,the way he writes about the struggle between Guarducci and Ferrua is too openly partisan without enough evidence to justify it; many references, especially in the historical chapter, are simply unserious, leading one to mistrust the rest; and there is a difficult-to-explain factual error in the section "The Church and the communists": the St. Philip Neri church in Garbatella was built in 1952 (Sources: (1) Wikipedia, and (2) "Róma templomai" (in Hungarian), an in-loco researched travel book by Mons. Paul Peteri), and not during the run-up to the fateful 1948 elections. (Wikipedia also mentions that it was funded by a couple called Bradley, not by George Strake, although I can put that down to Strake's wish to remain anonymous.)

All in all, a good story, but I wish with all my heart for John O'Neill to live long enough, in reasonably good health, to write a well-revised second edition.

This history of the finding of Peter’s bones is a well written tale which reads as easily as a novel. It sheds light on many misunderstood realities that have been hidden in Vatican “ secrecy. Vatican attempts to combat evils of WW II, reliance on lay men to aid in Church Projects, and resistance to the contributions of gifted women by clerical jealousy. Most importantly it offers scientific grounding to bolster faith.

Very interesting story but the writing is sloppy. Did anyone edit or even proofread this before it was published? The book is full of serious grammar errors, appalling sentence structure and a lot of repetition.

This book provides an interesting overview of an amazing archaeological mystery and religious history. I only wish that a more comprehensive discussion of the various relics discovered and translation of significant graffiti had been included.

I enjoyed this tale and the information about the Texas oilman whose faith made it all possible. I also loved to read about Margherita Guarducci who saved so much of it for the world to see because she had the eyes of a true seeker of truth. I sensed a bit of cover-up from the author as he describes the first ten years of the 'excavation' which was more of a slash and burn progress to find Peter's bones than any archeological dig. I don't think you can excuse, even in the 30's and 40's, when archeology was pretty well known, thanks to Tutankhamun, the way the Pope allowed his work crew to destroy precious history that belonged to the city of Rome, all of Rome, not just the Vatican. The fact that the damage only ceased and they only called in an actual expert (they had one guy with a degree in archeology whom they never let near the dig) AFTER they thought they had found the bones of St. Peter. In other words, they couldn't have cared less about the real value and beauty and history of what they destroyed looking for the bones. The author seems to find their methods clumsy but excusable. No, they were criminal and they used the endless stream of money to destroy rather than to preserve. They can't claim poverty, or ignorance; it was sheer power and giving the Pope what he wanted, and then science and history could be indulged a little. It's reallyl shameful the way this is celebrated as a 'win' for the church.

After reading only a few chapters, seeing the nonsense that readers have highlighted, pondering the speculative nature of the author's statements, I am ditching the book. If you believe there's a god, this will likely appeal to you.

Truth and Vatican are mutually exclusive. Original apostolic teachings were persecuted out of existence by the 2nd century AD. Do you think that all the apostles and disciples would have been martyred/killed if they were teaching that Jesus loved everyone??? Think again. The teachings of universalism today are lies.