Mother Teresa: Beyond The Image [Paperback]

Anne Sebba (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998

Mother Teresa of Calcutta--few figures in the twentieth century have received such adulation. This diminutive Albanian nun was frequently cited as the living embodiment of Christian kindness, received the Nobel Peace Prize, and was hailed as a living saint. Yet the respect she received was not unanimous, and toward the end of her life serious, measured criticisms were directed at this modern icon, who had once seemed beyond reproach. In her fascinating work, Anne Sebba looks carefully at all these views, giving the only objective account of Mother Teresa's life and work.

The first half of the book follows the life of young Agnes Bojaxhiu, from her childhood in Serbian-dominated Skopje, to her decision to join the religious life, to her arrival in India during the British Raj. In the second half, Anne Sebba examines the many difficult issues surrounding Mother Teresa's work: her attitudes toward abortion and rape, her association with dictators such as the Duvaliers in Haiti, her medical practices, and her fund-raising ethics. Alongside these aspects, Anne Sebba also highlights Mother Teresa's dedication to the sick, dying, and destitute, and looks at the motivation that drove this remarkable woman. Hers was an extraordinary life, full of paradox. She was a woman of enormous courage, love, and determination, and her legacy poses some of the most profound questions of our age.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Neither hatchet job nor hagiography, this biography of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was completed before Mother Teresa's death in September 1997. It includes a chronological account of Albanian-born Agnes Bojaxhiu's early years before she founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1947. But it focuses primarily on "compelling issues which arise from her work," including a judicious evaluation of charges that Mother Teresa accepted money from dictators and that her order sometimes provided inadequate medical treatment. Anne Sebba also probes with perception the social forces underpinning Mother Teresa's lionization in the West. This is an exceptionally well-balanced assessment of Calcutta's "saint of the gutters." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Journalist Sebba (Battling for News, Trafalgar, 1995) tells the story of Mother Teresa both chronologically and thematically (focusing on such issues as medicine, theology, politics, and ego, for instance) and also examines criticisms of Mother Teresa, acknowledging that no synthesis is possible because of the enormous variety of views. She succeeds in telling her subject's story in the first half of her book but then sets criteria for judging Mother Teresa that sometimes seem extraneous to her subject's aims and achievements. The author does not understand the relationship between Mother Teresa and the Indian press and criticizes her for developing a canny political instinct, though she was born into a household where politics and business were pursued with equal elan. Sebba's criticisms often don't lend clarity to the depth and complexity of Mother Teresa. Recognizing this, the reader can still move forward to consider Mother Teresa as a woman, religious leader, and care-giver to the poor. Not recommended.?Leroy Hommerding, Citrus Cty. Lib. System, Inverness, Fla.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Image (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385493568
• ISBN-13: 978-0385493567
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,664,269 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gives a good, fair overview of Mother Teresa, December 26, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Mother Teresa (Hardcover)

Knowing little about Mother Teresa to start with, I found the book seemed to objectively chronicle her life, even the controversial positions that she held that are usually ignored when she is spoken about. Although it becomes apparent that Mother Teresa was human and an imperfect being, this does not diminish the value she has to others as a role model.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Even saints have some clay in their feet!, October 28, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Bratislava, Slovakia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mother Teresa (Hardcover)

I already knew much about the life of Mother Teresa so I was particularly interested in reading about how her order works in various countries. I have had some experience here in Slovakia with the Missionaries of Charity. They are wonderful people who work with those that gov't organizations usually ignore. But I agree with the author that treating people in western countries as though they were living in Indian poverty (e.g., no a/c in the hospice in Washington, D.C., no washing machine here for young mothers to use for washing baby diapers and clothes)is to commit these people to a lifestyle which may do wonders for the nuns' souls but not much for those they help. I thought the book bent over backwards to present all sides of controversial issues and to show why Mother Teresa took the stands that she did. No human who ever lived on this earth was perfect (Jesus was both human and divine)and we should understand that even saints had their flaws. It's just that nowadays we can know more about them. I think this was an excellent book; I read it through in a weekend because I found it so interesting.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Saints Are Not "Perfect", January 21, 2006

By 

Katherine Graham "Katherine Graham" (Sparta, NC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mother Teresa (Hardcover)

I count myself as one soul especially devoted to Saints of the Catholic Church including this one. But as so eloquently explained in "Enduring Grace, Living Portraits of Seven Women Mystics" (by Carol Lee Flinders) - even the greatest of Saints will admit to shortcomings. In fact, that is what makes them so beloved by the world...and most importantly Our Lady. The humility to admit one is not what one appears to be is a virtue that is incredibly rare among a religious of this stature. The book herein, about Mother Teresa, takes a similar approach. The author most reverently admires this Saint for her enormous courage, love, perseverence and sacrifice. She simply does not elevate her to the level of "a god." I admired the author for her courage in not doing so. If you want a page-turner of a read that is full of unexpected surprises about one of the most fascinating individuals of our time, this is your book.