Customer Reviews

Augustine: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

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This compact book is perfect.

It provides just the right background information, from influences of people who lived before St. Augustine to influences of his modern world, as well as lots of other information about the early Christian era & pagan dissidents, numerous similar & conflicting spiritual beliefs -- without getting boring by losing focus on the topic, Augustine, or by focusing on him too much which would mean omitting information about the strata he found his place in.

It offers a great framework of biographical information which sheds much light on Augustine's works.

It also, significantly, contains brilliant scholarly summaries & explanations & assessments of many of Augustine's beliefs without becoming subjective or dry ever.

I recommend this as compulsory background reading for anyone interested in mysticism, medieval history, philosophy, saints, or especially Augustine himself.

Firstly, it should be noted that this book is not 895 pages! It is, in actuality, 144 pages - and it is a detailed 144 pages, too. This is actually the first book I ever read that got me interested in the thought of the early Church Fathers and it is a great introduction to St. Augustine. (The entire series is great, actually.)

Although this book is only a sketch, it provides some really helpful information when it comes to issues such as the Pelagian controversy and Augustine's views on Original Sin. It is interesting to note that although Augustine is held in such high regard by many today, his own ideas were sometimes reviled and considered heretical in his own time. Of course, it is also worth noting that Augustine's ideas are oftentimes completely misunderstood today; people sometimes force later developments onto Augustine.

Due to his continuing controversy - and the man is one of the more controversial orthodox thinkers in the history of the Christian Church - this book is worth reading. For those interested in further reading, the suggested readings in the back are a great place to start (I myself just picked up Peter Brown's autobiography on Augustine). For those who have no desire to become scholars on Augustine, however, this "very short introduction" is a very fine introduction as well. It is a great place to start.

Man, I wish I had these books when I was in school. Its not an indepth review of all of Augustine's thought & writings, but its amazing how much is packed into this little book (it will literally fit into your shirt pocket). The book will give you a great laymans introduction to Augustine, and you can be sure to impress anyone should your conversation turn towards the topic.

Recommended for the layman, just don't use it to prepare for debates with religious scholars :-)

A country-boy-come-to-town who tries to make his mark on secular society while enjoying himself as much as possible winds up an ascetic philosopher/theologian who shapes the course of Western thought for the next several centuries. A profound thinker with a talent for poetic prose, St. Augustine was a prolific writer. More of his writings survive than of any other ancient author.

The book is small, but don't let the size fool you--the typeface is also small. Chadwick crams more information onto fewer pages than you could think possible. The typeface and the dense content lend themselves to a rather tedious reading experience, but the reward is well worth the effort.

Augustine's thought is placed in the context of contemporary society, and the reader learns of the little-known Manichee and Donatist heresies. The way the ancient Church dealt with the Donatist heresy stands in stark contrast to the way the medieval Church dealt with heretics.

Chadwick, of course, discusses the "Confessions" and "The City of God," but he does not neglect Augustine's other writings, taking pains to point out how indebted Augustine was to the Old Testament and the Classical authors (Cicero in particular) for his language, but not his ideas. It is ironic that Cicero, such a mediocre philosopher, had such a profound effect on St. Augustine, such a towering figure in the fields of philosophy and religion.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Henry Chadwick's erudition is evident in his writing, but his style keeps the reading highly enjoyable. Anyone should be able to sit down with this book and read it in a matter of hours enjoying every minute of it.

This is not a biography of Augustine's life as much as a biography of Augustine's thought. It traces the development of his thought in neoplatonism and his reliance upon Plotinus in particular, his time as a follower, but later opponent against Manicheeism and his prolonged arguments against Donatism. The book is not comprehensive, but gives brief introductions to Augustine's thoughts on Creation, Trinity, Politics, Sacerdotalism, and a few other topics and shows how they developed through his life and ministry.

I highly recommend this short volume and would suggest that it would be a perfect read for a short introduction to Augustine at an undergraduate level.

A wonderful book for anyone wishing to learn about the theology of Augustine and the excellent work of Henry Chadwick. Chadwick is a venerated figure in modern theology having held positions at Oxford and Cambridge and manages to explain Augustine's theology in a surprisingly easy to read manner. Chadwick also explains the complex influence of Greek philosophy, specifically Neoplatonism on Augustine's thought. Prior to Chadwick this was something that many theologians had downplayed for obvious reasons. This is a fascinating read and should inspire readers to learn more about Augustine and the Early Church in general. I would recommend moving on to Chadwick's The Early Church when you have completed this book.

Chadwick approaches Augustine with an appreciation for Augustine's context, influences, challenges, imperfections and lasting contributions. He offers a brief biography that focuses on Augustine's scholarly road to Christianity as much as anything. Chadwick highlights the influences of philosophers like Plato, Plotinus and Cicero on Augustine throughout his life. Eventually, Augustine accepted Christianity through the writings of Paul and the influences of his mother Monica and mentor Ambrose.

Chadwick leads the reader through Augustine's life, mind and spiritual biography by highlighting key topics that impacted Augustine's life and theology. His flirtation with the monastic life while upholding the responsibilities of being a bishop reveal the tension of engaging the world while having a heart in heaven. Chadwick spends some time of key doctrines such as free will, creation, the Trinity, City of God, and grace to illustrate Augustine's mind on these matters.

This book is complete in itself while whetting the reader's appetite to take the next step in his or her discovery of and relationship with Augustine.