This is probably one of the best biography's I have ever read. It creates a realistic portrait of one of the most important figures in Christian history. I highly recommend!!

Excellent -- though dealing with such a well-known saint, Brown manages to present a surprising and nuanced portrayal of the Great Doctor, weaving together surrounding circumstance, important characters, literary criticism, and theological disputes. Very much worth the read.

Simply fantastic. This is not only a biography on Augustine, but also a period history of late Roman antiquity in Northern Africa, as well as a history of the thought, philosophy and religion of the day. Augustine left behind 93 books (made up of 230 little books) and also scores of thousands of sermon manuscripts and letters. It’s astonishing to think how one person could output such a body of work. He is a fascinating man with paradoxes and contradictions that surfaced off and on, but what struck me was his pastoral heart. As a bishop later in life he was primarily concerned with the shepherding of his flock above all.

He became most famous during his infamous theological battle with Pelagius. Having read of this in previous times, I learned in this historical work that the battle was won by Augustine and the church against Pelagius not only due to Augustine’s genius in oratory and learning, but because the old Roman classical stoicism was waning. Pelagius simply represented a Christianized form of much of classical Roman thought - live a pious moral life with all your might. Yet as The Roman Empire was slowly collapsing, thought began shifting towards a rather pessimistic view of human nature rather than a Pelagian optimistic view, championed by Augustine. I do believe generally speaking a fallen view of human nature is indeed biblical, but the times were ripe to pastorally lead the ancient Roman Church to cry out to God for grace rather than depend on their own human efforts as the Vandals and Goths surrounded the prosperous Roman villas.

What is shocking to me is the correlation between late Roman Christianity and modern day American Christianity. In Augustine’s day, Rome and Christianity had become interestingly intertwined, and much of it could no longer be separated. Roman patriotism and pious Christianity has become so mixed, that in 410 when Rome was sacked, Augustine had to deal with as many disillusioned Christians and with disillusioned pagans.

Can’t recommend this book more. There is much to learn from this period that strangely brings illumination to our current Christianity in America.

I was somewhat skeptical that this book would be worthwhile, having been through the confessions a number of times and having Augustine's life story pretty much together in my own head. I thought an Augustine biography would be redundant, having already read the one written by the saint himself. For some reason, the stupidity of this attitude did not make itself aware immediately; fortunately, it only took the first few pages of Brown's book to disabuse me of my philistinism.
Brown's research is meticulous; he sculpts broad, arcing narratives within each section of Augustine's life, peppering the plot with abundant references to the man's letters and sermons, situating them within the rich context of provincial, African Christianity. The persistent and simultaneous tug of contemplative inclinations against pastoral, practical controversies within the flock is standard stuff of ancient ecclesiastical biographies, but Brown was able to get out of the way with enough tact to let the details of Augustine's personal story stand up in clear but ornate relief against the backdrop of 5th century Hippo, Carthage, and Rome. The two great controversies of Augustine's life--over Donatism and Pelagianism--stand like pillars on either side of his episcopal ministry, and I realized that prior to this biography I hadn't understood what was at stake in either of them, having approached them through an exclusively theological lens. Brown bestows a measure of flesh and blood on the controversialists, for which I am quite grateful. Learning of Augustine's own development, from an intense, almost rigorist neophyte to a venerable man of affairs deeply acquainted with the mysterious nature of human sin, softened the portrait of this brilliant and devoted Christian without diminishing any of his greatness. The melancholy of the crumbling late Roman empire overrun by invasion after invasion struck me with consistent force, and gave me a sense of the tragic feeling of futility that must have gnawed at those with responsibility to preserve and hand on civilization.
Augustine's literary executor, Possidius, said upon his death that "I think those who gained most from him were those who had been able actually to see and hear him as he spoke in Church, and, most of all, those who had some contact with the quality of his life among men." Having read this biography does little to ameliorate our lack of experience of him, but does inspire a deep desire to be faithful to the graces of one's own life, no matter where they lead, in confidence that the contribution one single person can make in all this madness is worthwhile, no matter how small.

The best biography I've ever read.

Brown takes the reader on an epic journey. It took me a long time to read this book. Reading it was like a long mountain bike in the Sierra--painful, long, beautiful, and worthy! Brown's book is not a casual read but the reader will be rewarded by getting to know a godly man who lived in a world so different and so distant from our own. Augustine lived in Roman, Christian Africa. Only after reading this book do I even have a hint of what that culture was like . . eating roasted peacock, studying and writing and preaching and praying for so many hours.

Unlike many biographies, Brown does not write primarily a chronological account, but a thematic one. He covers themes ranging from friends to predestination, from the "City of God" to old age.

Surprises: Augustine wanted to die alone and spent his last days mediating on four psalms. Augustine had a false theology of marriage and sex. After sending his concubine and son away, his life was consumed by all kinds of tireless labors. I am so thankful that the Lord has matured His church from a low view of marital love!

Augustine serves as a model to me as one who deeply loved Christ and the Scriptures.

Every preacher will think Augustine's words are his own!

"For my own way of expressing myself almost always disappoints me. I am anxious for the best possible, as I feel it in me before I start bringing it into the open in plain words: and when I see that it is less impressive than I had felt it to be, I am saddened that my tongue cannot live up to my heart (De Catechizandis Rudibus, ii,3 [On the Catechising of the Uninstructed])."

Augustine on why we as preachers use figures, analogies, stories and the like:

"The presentation of truth through signs has great power to feed and fan that ardent love, by which, as under some law of gravitation, we flicker upwards, or inwards, to our place of rest. Things presented in this way move and kindle our affection far more than if they were set forth in bald statements. When the soul is brought to material signs of spiritual realities, and moves from them to the things they represent, it gathers strength just by this very act of passing from the one to the other, like the flame of a torch, that burns all the more brightly as it moves (De Doctrina Christiana [On Christian Doctrine] 55,x1,21)."

Augustine on the Bible:

For such is the depth of the Christian Scriptures that, even if I were attempting to study them and nothing else, from boyhood to decrepit old age, with the utmost leisure, the most unwearied zeal, and with talents greater than I possess, I would still be making progress in discovering their treasures (On Christian Doctrine, 137,3).

This is an illuminating study of Augustine. While I was familiar with the first half of Augustine's life from his own account in Confessions, I learned so much more about the second half of his life, and about life overall in North Africa under the Roman Empire. Brown masterfully weaves together evidence from Augustine's letters and sermons to show the context in which he wrote his greatest works, facing challenges from Donatists, Pelagians, pagans, and corrupt clergy. I also gathered a greater sense of how, as bishop of Hippo, Augustine was rather isolated from the main centers of power in the Roman Empire and faced with indifference and injustice from its authorities and representatives. It's especially impressive how Augustine was able to write so productively, because so much of his time was consumed by everyday pastoral interactions as a bishop, which he attended to diligently.

What made this book jump from a 4 to a 5 was the epilogue (in the 2000 edition). I had felt that some of Brown's judgments of Augustine (especially in Augustine's old age) from the original 1967 biography were uncharitable, so I appreciated how, in an epilogue from 1999, Brown acknowledged the shortcomings of some of his earlier views and was willing to reconsider them based on new evidence from letters and sermons that have been more recently discovered, as well as from Brown's own life experience and maturation.

Big, long read that I've been meaning to get to for years- I've had it since Dr. Godfrey recommended it in seminary. This is an expansive biography that takes you deep into the world of Augustine as well as the life of Augustine himself. One thing that really impressed me in this biography was how often Augustine purposefully pursued community and deep friendships. Both in person and when apart from people through extensive letter writing. I think it's easy to think of people like him as just this set apart brilliant mind, but he was spurred on and sustained by important friendships and the sharing of ideas. Not a book to rush through, but very worthwhile if you're interested in Augustine.

Reading Peter Brown is deeply pleasurable, offering a combination of both solid prose and profound insights. I'm glad I finally found the time to read his biography of Augustine. The biography provides a useful introduction to the person and the times and is probably mandatory initial reading in the field, even if it seemed dated at times and did feel less sophisticated than Brown's later works. While I felt that the epilogue was useful for giving a sense for what an updated biography might look like, I also felt myself wanting to find a new biography to read in order to supplement this particular take on Augustine. Highly recommended in any case.

Brown's biography is one of the most respected recent biographies. I enjoyed ever page in this learned tome. Brown, a Princeton historian, does not plod in his scholarship but provides a sense of deep context, insight and detail. Although focusing on Augustine's intellectual development (although not going into detail regarding many of the typical hot-button theological issues), Brown presents a complete man in depth, with honesty and sensitivity. I gained a great sense of the time and culture in which Augustine matured and worked as a churchman. Brown does well portraying several of the most important people in Augustine's life.

The go to book for a broad overview of Augustine's life and theology. Brown really gives his reader a sympathetic look at the ancient world. I first read this book in an Augustine seminar, with primary sources alongside the complementary sections, and it was a great way to learn Augustine.

Brown's biography of Augustine is thoroughly enjoyable and insightful. He uses many details from Confessions and other works by Augustine to compose this excellent biography. Brown helpfully situates Augustine in late Antiquity, and he explores the cultural influences on Augustine's life and writing. This book is so enjoyable and beautiful that it is fairly easy to forget how long it is.