St. Augustine in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern

Non-Fiction. Audiobook from Blackstone Audio. Published in 1997, recorded in 2005. Purchased at Audible.com

Steve got this audiobook, and it sounded mildly interesting to me, so I gave it a listen. The author seemed a bit hostile towards Augustine, but then I feel hostile towards him at times, too. I was just hoping for a better representation of the man, including also some things that he had done that were good. I suppose this author doesn't think that there was much good in Augustine - he certainly picked examples from Augustine's work that were pretty silly. As an aside, I did learn an interesting tidbit about Augustine's mom: her name was Monica, and Santa Monica California is named for her. As to this book, a quick easy read on Augustine, but I wouldn't recommend it as an only source on the man.

Publisher's summary:
Augustine's struggles with sex and a domineering mother, followed by his spiritual crisis and conversion to Christianity, detailed in his Confessions, ultimately led him to his major contribution to philosophy: the fusion of the two doctrines of Christianity and Neoplatonism. This not only provided Christianity with a strong intellectual backing but tied it to the Greek tradition of philosophy. In this way Christianity managed to keep the flame of philosophy burning, however dimly, through the Dark Ages. Augustine also produced important philosophic ideas of his own, including theories of time and subjective knowledge that anticipated by many centuries the work of Kant and Descartes.

In St. Augustine in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of St. Augustine's life and ideas and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. The book also includes selections from St. Augustine's work, a brief list of suggested readings for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place St. Augustine within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: St. Augustine in 90 Minutes
from amazon.com, click here: St. Augustine in 90 Minutes