The Imitation of Christ: A Timeless Classic for Contemporary Readers [Paperback]

Thomas A'Kempis (Author), William C. Creasy (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

William Creasy's version of The Imitation of Christ is more than a new translation of a timeless work. It's a re-creation of a 560-year-old classic that infuses it with life and meaning for contemporary readers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Latin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Christian Classics; Revised edition (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087061231X
• ISBN-13: 978-0870612312
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #490,968 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible Classic, January 8, 2000

By 

A. Haag (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Imitation of Christ: A Timeless Classic for Contemporary Readers (Paperback)

This translation helps the words of this prolific and devout writer come alive for the reader in very profound ways. The suggestions, arguments, insights, and pronouncements of Thomas a Kempis have very modern and immediate applications. His "dialogs" with Jesus can sing with love, longing, and awe or speak plainly to the very practical. This is an accessible book of meditations that offers inspiration and comfort in a language that brings the 15th century straight into the 21st. It's a book to keep and savor over and over again.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best devotional book I've ever read, October 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Imitation of Christ: A Timeless Classic for Contemporary Readers (Paperback)

The Bible is THE book, but this book is definitely second in my opinion. I read a portion of it every day with my Bible reading. It has changed my life. My first choice for "best book ever read".

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless Reflections, June 27, 2002

By 

Brad Shorr "Brad Shorr" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Imitation of Christ: A Timeless Classic for Contemporary Readers (Paperback)

Thomas a Kempis lived in a world torn asunder by the Plague, political upheaval, and deep crisis in the Church-a world perhaps not so different from ours. Thomas chose to leave his embattled world for the monastery and devote his life to God. Escapism? Retreat? Hardly. Thomas shows us with great pain, passion, and eloquence how monastic life is the ultimate battle, that between the spirit and the flesh, with stakes no less than one's eternal salvation. "Imitations" teaches us how to be humble before God and each other, and how to live in a manner pleasing to God. It offers up devotional prayers that help us move toward a real and meaningful relationship with Jesus. And in Book Four, it provides profound reflections on the Eucharist that, for Catholics, take this Sacrament to a whole new level of significance, mystery, and beauty.

In many ways the book is not comforting, for it offers no easy answers. Instead, it challenges us to look at our thoughts and actions with utmost clarity and honesty. This is neither easy nor comfortable, but in the end, our only road to peace. Thomas's writing has certainly stood the test of time. After over five hundred years, his words still ring true, and loudly.