St. Augustine in 90 Minutes

By: Paul Strathern

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 1 hr and 13 mins

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)

The sex maniac, lol.

He thought therefore he was, long before Descartes. A good addition to the author's other 90 minute overviews of philosophers.

These 90-minutes series is light and informative

If you didn't think that philosophy could be funny, listen to this author's books.

Well worth listening.

Very interesting and informative. Excellent narration. For those already fans of Augustine or not yet...

Snarky but memorable and complete

The authors English accent is pleasing throughout and does not obscure the words. The content is snarky in that portrays Monica his mother as controlling in a deep you religious way, and Augustine with the resulting overactive conscience and preoccupation with sex and sexual immorality. However, this is still a very enjoyable read and keeps you motivated.

90 minutes is not enough

The brevity of this piece does not lend itself to any fair examination of Augustine or his works. The chronologies were exciting and informative.

if I could give six stars I would.

I've greatly enjoyed every one of these '. . . in 90 Minutes' audio books. Well written, slightly humorous, and narrated to match.

a great and reverberating tragedy for humanity

In the 5th Century BC, in a world riven by new philosophical and theological ideas, that St Augustine--all alone--had to fashion new ideas used to fuse late Antiquity to the Medieval... without the sagely advice of Paul Strathern... is a great and reverberating tragedy for all humanity.

Very funny; great way to learn a bit of philosophy

I really enjoyed this book and the narration. The writer casts a modern jaundiced eye on both the absurdity of the development of philosophical thought and accidents of history.
We get to learn some high points of Augustine’s contributions to philosophy and the traumas of history. Terrific.

Entertaining but...

I am reminded of of something David Goldman said; Trying to explain a conversion experience to someone who hasn't had one is like trying to explain being in love to someone who has never been in love.

It is entertaining but Strathern lacks a full understanding of the Christian faith. His cynicism can be rather tiresome for believers. This colors his ability to grant Augustine his due.

Eye opener

Presentation was fast- pace. Content was surprising and unexpected. I liked how the personality of the person was shown in the context of the times he lived in.