Lives of the Saints [Kindle Edition]

Alban Butler (Author), John Gilmary Shea (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This popular edition of Butler's Lives of the Saints has been specially prepared for the Kindle. It has descriptions of the lives of hundreds of Catholic saints organized by their feast days. This devotional classic continues to fascinate devout Catholics, and the tales of the Saints provide daily inspiration. It is a primary reference on the subject of the Catholic Saints.

This is the Benziger Brothers edition of Alban Butler's Lives of the Saints. Butler (1711-1773), was an English Roman Catholic priest. This, his principal literary work, was published between 1756 and 1759. Lives of the Saints has hundreds of capsule descriptions of Catholic saints, organized by the saint's day of the year. The 1894 Benziger Brothers edition, originally published in 1878, was heavily edited by John Gilmary Shea (here uncredited. Source: MELVYL). The 'Reflections' were not in the original Butler text, and were probably added by Shea.

The full text of Alban Butlers' work, which occupies over 1,200 pages of two-column small type, will have to wait for another time. However this imprimatur edition was apparently widely used by American Catholics at the turn of the 20th century, and remains accessible, and a source of continued inspiration to contemporary readers.--J.B. Hare

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 468 KB
• Print Length: 360 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1463524382
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Evinity Publishing Inc; 2.0 edition (July 13, 2008)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B001CL82NS
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,529 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Reference > Publishing & Books > Bibliographies & Indexes
  • #4 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Holidays
  • #8 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Saints

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 150 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from the Publisher, March 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Lives of the Saints (Paperback)

Father Butler's famous Lives of the Saints ranks only after the Bible, the Missal and The Imitation of Christ as the all-time most popular and authoritative Catholic book. This handy one-volume edition is taken from the many volumes of the highly revered Father Alban Butler (1710-1763), an English Catholic priest and scholar, who devoted almost 30 years of meticulous research to the lives of the Saints and whose work was originally published in the 1750's. This present edition contains no debunking, as do many other editions; thus, it conveys Fr. Butler's spirit of profound faith in and reverence for our saintly traditions. Additional Saints have been added, however, who have lived since the author's time-including St. Theresa the Little Flower, Pope St. Pius X, St. Catherine Labouré, etc. Based on the traditional Catholic calendar as of 1955. Gives approximately one page per saint, one or two saints per day, plus a brief Reflection based on the virtues of the saint. Extremely valuable to read daily in order to put oneself in tune with our holy Catholic traditions and to develop a truly Catholic approach to life. Shows the fruits of the Catholic Faith as borne out in the lives of its greatest adherents. Excellent for the whole family!! 428pp. PB. Imprimatur.

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Daily Reading on the Saints for Adults, October 30, 2005

By 

Miryam Shoresh (Adirondack Mountains, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lives of the Saints (Paperback)

"Lives of the Saints" was originally titled as "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints". Its author was Father Alban Butler, who lived from 1735-1763. It is, as the original title indicates, a book mostly of the priests, bishops, cardinals and popes of the church who were saints as well as of the martyrs and other saints. It was written during the 30 years that he was a professor of philosophy and theology, and was written for adult readers. It contains a concise but good biography on about 400 saints, at least one on his/her feast day for each day of the year. It has a 29 page appendix of more recent saints by a more recent author.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the real Butler's , not even an abridgement, October 9, 2010

By 

J. Thomas Graham (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Lives of the Saints (Kindle Edition)

This is not Butler's "Lives Of The Saints". It is "Lives Of The Saints With Reflections For Every Day In The Year Compiled From The 'Lives Of The Saints' By Rev. Alban Butler'. It is not an edition of Butler's. Even to call it an "abridgement" would really be pushing it, but if it had been marketed as such, I would have avoided it in the first place and not have wasted my time purchasing it and then obtaining a refund.