I enjoyed reading this book! This book by George Weigel is a great and comprehensive biography of Pope John Paul II, at least up until about 1999 or so (the edition I read is copyright 1999, though I understand that updated editions of the book have been published). It goes into great detail about his life as in Poland before he became Pope (when he was growing up, and when he became a priest, bishop and later cardinal), as well as his election as Pope, as well as his pontificate. I learned a lot, for example, about the hardships he faced, both before and after he was elected Pope. It is amazing to learn about how he dealt with them all. Before I read this book, I did not fully appreciate, for example, many of the circumstances of his life in Communist Poland. I also did not fully appreciate his major role in helping to bring down communism in Poland and other places. I also learned about how some of his visits and encyclicals and so forth truly touched the hearts of many. I also learned that he really dealt with a lot of people, it seems, on a very personal basis.
I should also mention that to an extent this book also discusses his dealings with other Vatican officials, including then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who of course is now Pope Benedict XVI). Ratzinger served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from 1981 until the end of John Paul II's pontificate. As this book mentions, John Paul II and then-Cardinal Ratzinger worked very well together. So, in a way we can learn something from this book about the current pope as well, even if it wasn't suspected at the time that Ratzinger would be John Paul II's successor.
Again, I greatly enjoyed this book, though I should also mention that it is heavy reading at around 900 pages, so it took me a while to read it. However, it is a great book to read small parts at a time. It is indeed a great and comprehensive biography of a great man and a great Pope.

get this book if you are interested in his life before he became Pope. simply amazing book.