Customer Reviews

The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary

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The title of the book (A Comprehensive Biographical Dictionary)
does much to describe the content contained therein. I must admit that I was initially disappointed when I first opened the 640 page tome. I believe that when I first bought the book I was looking for stories and inspiration concerning the lives of the saints. And what better way than to have a comprehensive dictionary. I was disappointed because the entries were dry, uninspiring, factual, and remarkably terse; in fact each entry usually has only two or three sentences.
However the book is indeed comprehensive. It contains entries for all those who have been formally canonized or beatified by the Roman Catholic Church to date, as well as for those who have had their local veneration approved by the Church as a whole and those who have been listed in the old Roman Martyrology.
The list is complete. I have not been able to think of a single saint that I was unable to find in the book (with the possible exception of my dear grandmother).
I have now become much more accepting of my reference book as I am using it in the manner in which it was originally intended. I refer to it when I am in need of basic, verified, factual, information regarding a certain saint. The book is not meant to be read cover to cover as a novel; and in fact, the editor states explicitly in his introduction that "this book is intended primarily to be a work of reference, which entails that a critical attitude is taken towards historical evidence . . . "
If you are looking for a book that will give you inspirational stories regarding the lives of the saint, then this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a comprehensive reference book that contains verified information about all those who have been formally recognized, then this is the all inclusive reference book for your shelf.

If you have a saint's name and spelling you'll be able to quickly find it alphabetically along with a short biography. This book will not help you find "patron" saints by catagory.