The Confessions of St. Augustine

There is no publisher.. nothing to this but a photocopy of an original book... “made in the USA” “July 9, 2019” which is the day I ordered it!! There is no forward... no content page ... nothing at all but the text... which appears unedited... poor typeface... I am very disappointed. Be very careful as Amazon has grouped all the reviews from all the various “publishers” under one umbrella... Some reviews say they like ‘this’ edition but it’s likely not the edition you are selecting that they are referring to! The issue I bought and have reviewed has the blue, orange, red, white (sun ray effect) cover with SAINT written boldly in the title.

Augustine is an interesting person to say the least. Modern readers may have difficulty in understanding Augustine, for his world was very different but very much the same as ours. Augustine begins as a Christian then turns to Manichaeism. Manichaeism, like Gnosticism is competing with "orthodox" Christianity. Augustine is from the breadbasket of the Roman empire, North Africa. Thagaste, in modern day Algiers was a Christian city very different from modern Muslim Algeria. His mother Monica had a strong Christian background and looked to the day Augustine would "come around" back to Christianity. Growing up a "wunderkind" and attending the best schools gave Augustine a sort of "cockiness" to his character. Augustine had a relationship with a woman and a child by her (an almost "modern" relationship). It is in the parallels in our world (American empire) and the late Roman empire that is relevant for us today. Augustine, who is a deep thinker begins to ponder his own life and the life of the empire he lives in. He ponders the nature of sin, time and death. He comes back to Christianity and is baptized with his son. The death of his close friend and then son Adeodatus affect him greatly. These events, along with the "decaying" empire that is around him give rise to his work "City of God." Written in "Books" rather than chapters may seem odd to us moderns. His book Confessions is not an easy read for modern readers, but for those who seek his wisdom it is there.

The Confessions of St. Augustine should be 13 Books (Chapters), my copy ended right in the middle of Book IV and the font is extremely small!!!

When I first read this book nearly 20 years ago, I was struck by how brutally honest it is and how relevant it seemed given the age of the work. This particular version suffers for not giving context by including an introduction to the author or book. Also, I personally think that the translation could benefit from an update to make the syntax easier for the modern reader. If you are expecting a book that follows a strictly chronological flow you will be disappointed by the ancient Greek/Roman rhetorical approach. Among other things, Augustine tells of how the death of a friend changed his view of life, discusses the bachelor versus the married life, how a randomly read scripture brought conviction, peace, and confirmed his progression toward conversion, the weakness of the body and how this coincides with the idea of gratification, and describes feelings of emptiness and being led by his own passions, often against his will.

In Saint Augustine's Confessions, he recounts his journey from being a young atheist living large and looking for answers with his intellect, to his eventual conversion to Christianity through the efforts of his mother, and the peace and security he found in his faith.I found this book interesting more theoretically than in actuality. Although I'm not a believer, stories about faith (particularly people who came to faith rather than just continuing to believe what they have been taught since they were children) are intriguing...what makes a person decide to believe or renew a belief they had drifted away from? I suspect most of them would describe it the way that Augustine does, as a realization of a truth that they'd been looking for, consciously or unconsciously, throughout their lives. But the environment that produces that realization can vary...sometimes friends and family are involved, sometimes it's an intensely personal experience, sometimes it comes out of the blue, and sometimes right after a major life event that shifted perspective in a significant way.I didn't realize until I'd already started it that the Kindle copy of the book that I was working with was an abridged edition. I'm not sure if that was a positive or a negative, honestly. While the book never really engaged me until the end, when Augustine gets more analytical about his beliefs, and I was therefore rather happy that there wasn't more of it to get through, perhaps that's because a more developed narrative would have been more compelling all along? I can't honestly say. I didn't personally enjoy reading this particular edition and wouldn't recommend it for a general audience, but for an audience curious and inclined to enjoy books about religion, this would be a worthwhile read.

I have not completed reading this book yet-only about 1/4 through it but it is very inspirational, although you must be willing to wade through language that is no longer familiar to us. I do not mind and find the language fascinating and historical. I do have to read some passages over again to get the meaning and have even had to look up a few words to figure out what he was trying to say. If you don't want to take the time to do this, I understand from other reviews that there are translations into current language. I may read it again some day with the translation but for now, am happy with the original language. It is hard to believe this was written so long ago and the thoughts that are brought out. I can't wait to finish!

This is about the version called the "modern English version". Amazon in their wisdom have not made it clear that this is the abbreviated version of the text. They also put all the reviews of the Confessions together so that it is generally impossible to work out which version reviewers are talking about. I bought this a Kindle book and feel that it is missold. It is useless to me in its present form as it omits the most important parts that I need it for. Be aware.

Saint Augustine is the most human of Saints. Some of his youthful activities would be shocking even in the present day, and his conversion to Christianity and subsequent ordination were very slow in coming. But it is precisely this, detailed in his book Confessions which makes his story so relevant to us all. His path from debauchery and larceny to Priest- and Sainthood, described in self-critical and painfully honest detail, should be a comfort to us all. It is never too late to become a good person.

The content of the book and the heart of the author is very good and motivating. However, it is a bit of a struggle to read and understand the old English. At times, I soon get accustom and enjoy it, and other times, I find it difficult to concentrate and find out exactly what the author is saying. But I don't regret buying it and it is helping me spiritually. 20% read, 80 to go.

This is a classic piece of literature written originally in Latin - but this particular translation uses the very archaic language of the Authorised Version of the Bible. this makes it less than riveting reading! I am sure that it is possible to get hold of a translation into modern English - but this seems to be the only version available free of charge on Kindle.

Good: quick delivery and CheepBad : the size of book is too big (A4 size), too much and tiny letter in a page.I wonder who want to read this book.Consequently this book doesn’t look smart and not easy to read. I cannot recommend this book anyone.