I was forced to read this my sophomore year in college. Oofa. You know you're in for an excruciating reading experience when the author has three first names.

Peter Brown's Augustine of Hippo is a brilliant tour-de-force that will delight any reader familiar with the history of theological thought or the late Roman empire. It recounts the life and intellectual struggles of a fascinating person, elucidates the writings of an important philosopher and gives a brilliant portrait of African society in the fifth century.
The first thing to understand is that Brown has written a true biography; not a speculation of the life of man known through his actions and a few written sources. Brown had the full range of material necessary to compose a true history of the public and private man. At his disposition were voluminous writings, sermons and letters from the pen of Augustine plus numerous other contemporary sources. In the epilogue to the second edition of his book Brown writes: ""Augustine appeared to me to be one of the few figures of late antiquity of whom a biography could be written. His writings were extensive, vivid and most important of all securely dated. But there was more to it than that. ... He showed how it should be done , not only in his Confessions but in his many letters." (p. 488) In other words, Augustine put enough of himself in his Confessions and letters that the modern biographer can recreate the inner man at the different stages of his life which is what Brown does and in brilliant fashion. His book contains the same charms as David McCulloch's life of Harry Truman or Jean Tadie's biography of Proust.
One does however need to know a little about the subject before starting. I had taken a course on the late Roman empire as an undergraduate for which I had read excerpts from the City of God and later read Augustine Confessions on my own. This was enough of an introduction to allow me to enjoy Brown's book. I would not recommend it to anyone who had not read the Confessions and some sections of the City of the God.
I was initially impressed at how well Brown explained the Confessions. He assures the read that the book even when read in the original Latin has the feel of being a work of the eighteenth century. It lacked any stylistic precedents in the classical era and thus tremendously surprised the readers of its era. Brown however insists that Augustine's Confessions where truly intended to be what the title indicated. They were written as the exercise of a Christian trying to understand his own weaknesses so as to become a better Christian. Rousseau's Confessions in which he takes a bizarre pleasure in parading his at times perverse behaviour before the public may be written in the same style but have different objectives.
Brown presents Augustine as a thinker who was exposed to many ideas and thought deeply about them. He received a Classical education of the Roman era. He was briefly a Manichee and then spent most of his professional career as a Catholic bishop fighting two heresies: Donatism and Pelagianism. Augustine's great achievements for posterity were to unite Platonism with Christianity and to lay the ground work for Calvinism through the development of the doctrine of predestination. The achievement of Brown's book is that it gives the reader an understanding of the intellectual context that Augustine was educated and lived in as well as explaining how Augustine's works affected what followed.
Brown in the first Edition of his book acknowledges that there is some truth in the accusation that Augustine was the great theologian of the inquisition. In his writings, he examined Peligianism and Donatism carefully refuting the in the finest detail. As a bishop, he used the full judicial, military, and police power of the empire to suppress these two heresies. In the first Edition, Brown argues that while Augustine used physical coercion it was still the verbal arguments that gave him the greatest pleasure. In the Epilogue to the Second Edition, Brown suggest that new letters discovered since the publication of the first edition suggest that Augustine was in fact saddened by what he felt was the need to resort to physical force to solve intellectual problems.
Brown also feels that St. Augustine's concept of predestination was extremely close to that which Jean Calvin developed from St. Augustine's writings. The difference that Brown sees is that while the Calvinists simply insisted that there was an elite "elect" predestined for salvation, St. Augustine despaired at how deeply sin was embedded in his nature and concluded that he could only achieve salvation through God's grace. Thus, the Calvinists at times appear to gloat over those who are not predestined for salvation, St. Augustine simply argued that he could not without God's help overcome his own sinful nature. The critics in his time pointed out to Saint Augustine that his doctrine may have had some merits in a society that was predominantly Christian but that it considerably missionary effort in that missionaries in order to win converts in non-Christian society need a message of hope not despair. St. Augustine was not moved.
Peter Brown's Augustine of Hippo is a wonderful book. It does require a basic familiarity with St. Augustine's work but for those who possess such a familiarity, it is a treasure trove of insight and pleasure.

Spectacular

Well-written biography of the famous North African saint. Includes extensive information on his philosophical and theological views. May be a bit confusing for the reader without a background in early Christian exegesis, but still very readable, and an excellent introduction.

Dense, worth the time. A meaningful exploration of Augustine's life.

The best thing about Peter Brown is that he's an historian writing a biography. Sounds obvious, right? But he's not a psychologizing, or moralizing, or theologizing. He's historicizing.

This biography from the late '60s (his new edition left the original pretty much intact, and just added a preface and epilogue with information about recent discoveries of sermon texts and letter transcriptions, with the attendant implications in thought), was among the first to situate such a major figure from antiquity in the contemporary social, political and organizational structures. You can see, from almost the first moment of reading it, why this book influnced so many subsequent authors and editors: the scene is lively, the setting complex, and the tone--well, if it's not conversational, it's at lease collegial. You get the feeling that he's not trying to instruct you in something, but that he's exploring terrain with you. It may be a place where he's spent much time, but he's just as interested in developing new insights as you are.

For example: he reports on the inscriptions on gravestones current at Augustine's time, and connects that to the cultural attitudes and emphases that he might have met, combated, or assumed. He compares the inscriptions from Northern Africa to the inscriptions in Southern Europe, and both to those in the Middle East. Weaving this thread throughout the chapters, along with details about diet, transportation, fashion and entertainment, helps him build a convincing case about the character of Augustine himself, his changes in temperment and the development of his relationships, both with allies and enemies. Just when you start to wonder what he's missing, he critiques his own argument in the epilogue!

Simply a great read: stunning in scope, utterly original in bent, and still joyful in depth.

A powerful biography of a spiritual giant, Peter Brown wonderfully excavated the life of Saint Augustine, throwing into stark relief the complications of his life, the complexity of his thought, and the love that he possessed for his flock. This is the best resource on Augustine I have ever read, and strongly recommend it to those who love a good biography and want to learn about the most widely influential Christian to ever live after the New Testament period. Today his ideas are still applied, debated, and meticulously studied. Every major sect of Christianity claims Augustine as their champion, and argues for his support of their doctrines. This is because he thought broadly and openly about the Scriptures, constantly questioned himself, and saw the theology of Christ through a variety of perspectives.

This book was of great benefit to me as someone who has loved Augustine for a long time and read him since conversion! Thank you, Peter Brown.

Outstanding.

Turbūt tai vienas iš galimų žvilgsnių į Augustino gyvenimą, nes į jį žvelgiama subjektyviai. Tačiau knyga puikiai atskleidžia, visus jo gyvenimo vingius, bei kelią kuriuo Dievas jį pašaukė eiti. Taip pat labai įdomu stebėti Romos imperijos viešpatavimą, bei religinius kultūros pokyčius. Tuo metu ypač daug vyravo, bendruomenių kurios stengėsi suburti žmones į savo gretas, pvz: donatininkai, pelagiojinai, ar manichėjais. Tik jie nežinojo, kad jų oponentas kuris buvo išsilavinęs Hipono vyksupas, turėjo daugiau ginklų nei jie. Vienas žmogus, sugebėjes nuveikti tiek daug per savo gyvenimą, padėjo susiformuoti vienoms svarbiausioms tikėjimo tiesioms, bei apginti Bažnyčią nuo eretikų.

I had the honor of being Prof. Brown's student for an all-too-brief quarter during my late, lamented time at UCLA.

We were studying a cache of recently discovered Augustinian letters. He was the stereotype (in a good way) of the soft-spoken, immensely erudite college professor, and was as brilliant in person as on paper.

(PS -- I got an A- on the final paper :-)

A gift. I cried multiple times. I prayed often.

It was hard for me to stay connected. Interesting stuff no doubt. But too much said about it. I feel free now.

Things that kept me going: Augustine could be a jokester.
Pagans were hard to stop.
The Catholic church would like to think that they don't like sex - but they really, really, really do.
Sometimes when you think you know all there is to know about a subject - there is still more to know.