Jesus Wept: Seven Popes and the Battle for the Soul of Catholic Church (February 2025)
From the bestselling author and former New York Times investigative reporter, an unprecedented look at the defining struggles of the modern Catholic Church, told through the lives of the last seven popes.
“The result of prodigious research, Shenon's book is endlessly fascinating, insightful, and brilliantly told. Even at its significant length, it is always interesting and highly readable, and Shenon's final analysis is inarguably a marvel.” —Booklist (starred review)
“A detailed, well-researched, and quite frankly epic examination of the Roman Catholic popes of living memory . . . [Shenon’s] assessments are honest and, at times, brutal . . . Apologists for the church will doubtlessly find plenty of reason to argue with Shenon, but he also gives them a great deal of material to defend. An extraordinary accomplishment: controversial, but crucial for discussions in today’s Catholic Church.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Insightful . . . Beginning with the reign of Pope Pius XII and the aftermath of World War II, the book explores the personalities, politics, and conflicts that marked each pope’s reign . . . Contributions from top theologians about the roles that various women played in papal households add considerable depth and detail to the stories of the popes.” —Library Journal (starred review)
“[Shenon] paints a richly detailed portrait of a complex, hierarchical, and secretive institution as it grappled with a modernizing world.” —Publishers Weekly
A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination (2013)
A groundbreaking, explosive account of the Kennedy assassination that will rewrite the history of the 20th century's most controversial murder investigation.
The questions have haunted our nation for half a century: Was the President killed by a single gunman? Was Lee Harvey Oswald part of a conspiracy? Did the Warren Commission discover the whole truth of what happened on November 22, 1963?
New York Times bestseller
Washington Post Notable Books of 2013
Winner of the 2014 Francis Parkman Prize for American history (awarded by the Society of American Historians)
Philip Shenon, a veteran investigative journalist who spent most of his career at The New York Times, finally provides many of the answers. Though A Cruel and Shocking Act began as Shenon's attempt to write the first insider's history of the Warren Commission, it quickly became something much larger and more important when he discovered startling information that was withheld from the Warren Commission by the CIA, FBI and others in power in Washington. Shenon shows how the commission's ten-month investigation was doomed to fail because the man leading it – Chief Justice Earl Warren – was more committed to protecting the Kennedy family than getting to the full truth about what happened on that tragic day. A taut, page-turning narrative, Shenon's book features some of the most compelling figures of the twentieth century―Bobby Kennedy, Jackie Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, J. Edgar Hoover, Chief Justice Warren, CIA spymasters Allen Dulles and Richard Helms, as well as the CIA's treacherous "molehunter," James Jesus Angleton.
Based on hundreds of interviews and unprecedented access to the surviving commission staffers and many other key players, Philip Shenon's authoritative, scrupulously researched book will forever change the way we think about the Kennedy assassination and about the deeply flawed investigation that followed.
“Jaw-dropping scenes involving the destruction and manipulation of evidence... A persuasive, deeply researched account… A compelling read.” ―The Washington Post
“A Cruel and Shocking Act has authority, is tantalizingly readable and is convincing in its claim that the Warren Commission was unable or unwilling to uncover the total truth. [Shenon's] work, I submit, is the one to read.” ―The Wall Street Journal
“Engrossing reporting… [A Cruel and Shocking Act] raises significant questions.” ―The New York Times
“Remarkable…I've become convinced that, 50 years after the act, a real reporter--not some chat-room know-it-all--has through actual, on the ground, person-to-person investigation, through nonstop digging, tugging at the tangled heart of the mystery, brought us to the brink of answer. An achievement that, I believe, merits the Pulitzer Prize and the thanks of a grateful nation.” ―Slate.com
“A judicious account of the Warren Commission, as recalled by the lawyers who did its legwork. A.” ―Entertainment Weekly
“[A] masterful piece of modern history… A work fit to rank alongside the previous masterpiece of the murder, William Manchester's Death of A President... Gripping.” ―The Independent (United Kingdom)
“Magnificent… An incredible book.” ―Bob Schieffer, CBS News
The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation (2008)
In a work of history that will make headlines, New York Times reporter Philip Shenon investigates the investigation of 9/11 and tells the inside story of most important federal commission since the the Warren Commission. Shenon uncovers startling new information about the inner workings of the 9/11 commission and its relationship with the Bush White House. The Commission will change our understanding of the 9/11 investigation -- and of the attacks themselves.
New York Times and Washington Post bestseller
“The Commission by Philip Shenon is a startling, riveting, disturbing read about the "uncensored" History of the 9/11 investigation. -- Publishers Weekly.
“I literally could not put it down... It owes a lot to Robert Ludlum. I felt I was reading a teleplay for ‘24.'“ -- Michael Duffy, Time Magazine.
“Remarkable job ... A fascinating read and a real insight into the Bush White House and its amoral attitude toward governing.” -- Richard A. Clarke, former White House counterterrorism director and author of Against All Enemies.
“Shenon is a skillful writer and storyteller as well as a dogged reporter ... he has a keen grasp of human frailty and folly” -- Evan Thomas, The New York Times.
”Lifting the veil to understand the 9/11 Commission ... exhaustively reported ... cumulative effect of reading all of it in one book is stunning.” -- Colette Bancroft, St. Petersburg Times.
”Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, this rich slice of investigative journalism turns into something still more substantial .... a masters' thesis in human frailty.” -- Peter Preston in The Observer (U.K.).