Pope John Paul II will release a U.S. version of a book that tells of his struggles as prelate in communist-era Poland.
The book, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, spans a 20-year period from the late 1950s through his election as the first Polish pope in 1978. It draws on the pope's years in Krakow, where -- as Karol Wojtyla -- he served as bishop and then archbishop.
The book recounts communist efforts to suppress the church in Poland, Wojtyla's clashes with authorities to protect it and of clandestine meetings that he organized with intellectuals and scientists.
It is scheduled to be released on Sept. 28 by Time Warner Book Group. The original version was published last month in Italy by Mondadori.
The book had a first edition run of 500,000 copies in Italy, and also went on sale in Polish, French, German and Spanish.
An earlier autobiography by the pope, called Crossing the Threshold of Hope, sold 20 million copies in 50 editions worldwide.