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24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For All Who Seek, January 27, 2004
This review is from: The Confessions (Paperback)
Let me begin by saying that this book should be read by anyone seeking to live a better life, whether you are Christian or not, St. Augustine's representation of himself and his personal struggles are so human that they are easily accesible to people's of all faiths. That being said, don't expect to come to this book and not be challenged. This book is also the best introduction to St. Augustine and his theology so if you wish to read any of his other works, start with this one. In my opinion, this book is really two books in one, and should be treated as such. The first book is composed of the first nine chapters and forms the autobiographical portion of the Confessioons, and the tenth through thirteenth chapters make up a concise overview of St. Augustine's basic theological views. The first part is by far the easier to read, and depend on you are searching for by reading this book, this may be all you really need to read. St. Augustine sets out candidly for his readers the story of his life; the faith of his mother that initially so disgusted him and eventually aided in his conversion, his lusts and youthful errors, and his final dramatic conversion in the garden. Some claim that many of St. Augustine's gruelling criticisms of himself are exagerations ment as examples to his parishioners (he was the Bishop of Hippo) but irregardless the cincerity and spiritual earnestness of St. Augustine's writing shines through every page. It is amazing to think that someone who lived over 1500 years ago is so much the same as men today. The second part is the most intellectual of the two and this is the one that contains most of the theology of the work, and while I will say that this section may not be for everyone (but after reading his autobiography I hope you will feel compelled to read this) this section should NOT be read without first reading the more spiritual autobiography. St. Augustine here provides an outline for such celebrated principles as the everlasting now, and such difficult questions as was God compelled to create the world. While he does not mention much of one of his other very famous an important theological principles here (i.e. predestination) this is still the best introduction his entire cannon of theology that is available. I'd like to say a few words on the Vintage Spiritual Classic s edition. This is a handsome well-priced paperback volume that offers a good easily readable modern english translation. I shopped around when looking for an edition of this book, and while there are some editions that offer more notes, this is the only edition that offers refferences to the scriptual passages St. Augustine is referring to. It also contains an invaluable concise introduction and timeline to St. Augustine's life and the environment in which he lived. If you liked this, and you have good reading stamina, chack out his other major work "City of God".
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19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
good translation--but poor edition, August 10, 2001
This review is from: The Confessions (Paperback)
This is one of Augustine's best-known works, for all the right reasons. Sometimes comic, sometimes haunting, sometimes moving, this is the original autobiography. The narrative starts in early childhood and attempts to find an even earlier stage of existence, goes through adolescent error, until death (his mother's) and rebirth (Augustine's baptism). The last sections of the Confessions are explorations of memory and a reading of Genesis. This translation, by Maria Boulding, is very adequate: Augustine's relatively straightforward style is rendered into highly legible English. The introduction (by Patricia Hampl, not by the translator) is solid too, and introduces the book by way of the faculty of memory, an essential structuring device of autobiography. However, I can only give this three stars because the edition itself totally lacks apparatus. For starters, the index is somewhat meagre (no references to 'language,' 'rhetoric,' 'Virgil,' 'Dido,' for instance). Even less helpful are the notes. This book is part of the 'Vintage Spiritual Classics,' and 'spiritual' here means 'exclusively Christian.' This is a somewhat misleading choice of words (not to mention colonialist), and results in notes only giving biblical references. Thus, there are no notes explaining, for instance, Manichaeism (very relevant to the discussion in 3.7) or Neoplatonism. A few general observations in the Chronology, which precedes the Confessions, hardly suffice for a modern reader, and those remarks are not contextualized. In all, for its price this is a decent book (although overpriced in Amsterdam, unfortunately), but I had hoped for and expected a slightly more expansive editorial philosophy from Random House.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A powerful read, February 12, 2006
This review is from: The Confessions (Paperback)
This is a profound book in so many ways; here are just a few. Augustine writes with a combination of confidence and humility that is not seen today. His confidence stems from faith in the God he clearly knows so well and his humility from a deep understanding of the sinfulness that dwells at the very core of his being. Worship is the purpose and attitude of the book; one can't help but be moved to do so after reading it. This book has also stimulated me to much thought in the areas of entertainment, evangelism, conversion, and scripture. Although this book is a great classic that has influenced Christianity and beyond for many centuries and people feel like they "should" read it, I recommend reading it for the pure delight of listening to a man who lays himself bankrupt before the Almighty and sincerely asks, "Give what you command, and command what you will."
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