• St. Augustine in 90 Minutes

  • By: Paul Strathern
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 1 hr and 13 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (403 ratings)

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
St. Augustine in 90 Minutes  By  cover art

St. Augustine in 90 Minutes

By: Paul Strathern
Narrated by: Simon Vance
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $5.42

Buy for $5.42

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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.

©1997 Paul Strathern (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Well-written, clear, and informed, they have a breezy wit about them. I find them hard to stop reading." (The New York Times)

What listeners say about St. Augustine in 90 Minutes

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    193
  • 4 Stars
    97
  • 3 Stars
    57
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    32
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    199
  • 4 Stars
    76
  • 3 Stars
    35
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    12
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    157
  • 4 Stars
    79
  • 3 Stars
    43
  • 2 Stars
    14
  • 1 Stars
    32

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • MM
  • 06-21-10

Author hates subject

This book is more of a history lesson than an examination of the writings and evolution of beliefs of St. Augustine. The author seems to genuinely dislike Augustine, and makes fun of him throughout the book. If you're hoping to gain more insight into the contributions Augustine made to Christianity, this is not the book for you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Petty Snarkiness

I got this expecting a 90-minute summary of Augustine's philosophy. I would have settled for a short bio. but what I got was primarily someone with a grudge making fun of Augustine, and even that is in an ineffectual, unsubtle way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Biased and dismissive

Not so much an exploration of Augustine as a biography and then Strathern's two cents. Hey, Paul, if you don't like a philosopher, don't write a book about him! Possibly worthy of a casual listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

this guy.... oof

so much of these "90 Minutes" of his are filled up with his snide editorializing and opinions and "hot takes" .... most of them so-so to fairly clever ... but WHEW.... something about the way this series is presented (i guess it's that old "book by its cover" thing) makes you think that you'll be getting SORT OF an attempt at something LIKE "objectivity" but wwwwWOW is that not the case with Paul Strathern .....

his Hegel "90 Minutes" had MASSIVE problems similar to this one ..... and in THIS one,... just EVERYthing that Augustine did that was "Church-y" rather than "Philosophical" was this baffling, absurd, idiotic waste of time .... as if THIS is somehow an "intellectual take" on the History of Thought ... yyyYUCK.

and, AGAIN, these "90 Minutes" felt like they were MOSTLY what a sad stupid idiot Augustine was for caring so much about "Church-y" stuff and ALMOST ZERO discussion of Augustine's PHILOSOPHY .... which is exactly what Paul Strathern is so upset that Augustine didn't do enough of for Paul Strathern....!!!!! is anyone else seeing the irony in this?????

Peee Yooo.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Author totally ignorant of Augustine

Completely disgraceful misreading of Saint Augustine, doesn't even understand the point of the pears. A high school student would have done better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Biased

The author clearly has disdain for St. Augustine and theology in comparison with Greek philosophy. If you are going to do a brief review of someone’s life it’s best to leave personal opinions aside.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Author clearly dislikes Augustin.

I've never heard an author insult a subject's major works, mother, and major works like Strathern does in this book.

Almost felt like reading a Jack Chic tract. Talks constantly about Augustine wasting his time on things that as a bishop was central to his job and life's focus. Calls his 2 major works unreadable despite there being many today who consider them essential reading.

Glad it was a free book, but with his very transparent bias, doubt I'll listen to the other free tracts of his I got access to.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

In 90 Minutes Series overview

If you could sum up St. Augustine in 90 Minutes in three words, what would they be?
aka Cliff Notes

Would you recommend St. Augustine in 90 Minutes to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes - I've listened to each book in the series about a major philosopher that is available on Audible. Strathern's books don't have the analytical depth found in Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy" books, but he does a good job summarizing each philosopher's biography, major philosophical points, and criticisms. Additionally, Strathern's breadth is broader than Durant's in that he covers a greater number of philosophers. I believe that the time spent listening to these books has been well-spent.

My reviews for each book in the series about a philosopher are identical.

What about Robert Whitfield’s performance did you like?
Voice is clear, well-modulated, and easily understood, even at 1 1/2 speed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

If you are looking to find to condescending one-liners to support atheists views then you have found the right listen.

I usually enjoy Paul Strathern’s summaries as additions to my effort to work through “The New Lifetime Reading Plan.” In “St. Augustine in 90 Minutes,” Mr Strathern makes no effort to hide is personal contempt for Augustin and religious views writ large. This 90min installment says more about the author than his subject.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Snarky Presentation

The impression that I received from the author is that he does not like St. Augustine or the Catholic Church and constantly take shots at the both. I'm sure it's the same for St. Thomas Aquinas, so I'll pass. The book should be subtitles "A Cynical and Sarcastic Review of St. Augustine in 90 Minutes".
Perhaps it is just his attempt at humor, but the impression left was not anything like the wit and humor of a G.K. Chesterton, who could be humorous, skeptical and critical, while maintaining a level of respect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful