Born in 1923 to unstable parents (a cruel father who later abandoned the family and a chronically depressed mother), Mother Angelica--then called Rita Rizzo--is an unlikely person to have redrawn the landscape of Catholicism in America. The strength of Arroyo's biography is what he calls his "unfettered access" to records, associates and the nun herself; as an anchor and news director for EWTN, he's known her for years. But this is not purely a sweetness-and-light portrait; she comes across as outspoken and sometimes hot tempered, arguing with cardinals and even hurling a knife at a sharp-tongued uncle when she was 17.

Overall, Arroyo gives a strong sense of the woman who enrages liberals, delights conservatives, but is respected by almost all Catholics.

Softcover, 384 pp.