The book is very well written, and interesting. However, by the end it did drag a bit and I was ready to be finished with it and St. Francis. After reading this book I am much more keen to travel in Italy again, and much less impressed with St. Francis, whom I previously knew almost nothing about.

Excellently written book about an interesting person.

A fun read; great mix of 2004 travelog with the travels, prayers, exploits and monastic life of St Francis & his followers...the author is down to earth, has a genuine feel for the St Francis and a good sense of humor as she drives criss crossing Italy following the walking Francis. I think worth reading before/after traveling to Italy. Well documented.

Francke originally wanted to write about St. Francis of Assisi and his friendship with St. Clare. But Clare was a cloistered nun most of her life, while Francis traveled widely. On the advice of her agent, she wrote a travelogue, tracing Francis' steps through his entire life.

I thought I already knew a lot about both Clare and Francis, but I knew nothing. Francke's book is marvelous, not just telling their story, but putting it all in historical perspective. She talks about each location - then and now - and honestly, by the end of the first chapter, I wanted to book a flight on Alitalia.

If you want to discover the real Francis of Assisi, not the touchy-feely friend of animals, read this book. Then let it be your guide for a trip to Italy.

Very enjoyable, thorough biography, with a touch of travelogue. I expected something a little more deep or profound in term of style, not because the subject is Francis but because the author is a former editor of Newsweek. She writes in a surprisingly light-handed, easy-to-approach everyday language. Sometimes it felt too light, considering what she was writing about.

The copy I had was a first edition, and I noticed quite a few editing errors.

Good, informative, and really added some flavor to my Lenten reading this year.

This book checked so many boxes for me. I am not Catholic but Saint Frances has spoken to my soul for most of my life. I’ve read many books about him and pilgrimaged to Assisi. What I loved most about the “Francis” part of this marvelous travelogue is how flawed and human he was. He tried so hard to be all that Jesus Christ was and in that process he often hovered on the edge of zealotry and extremism. Of course God forgives us our humanity and so with Francis. God didn’t canonize him - people did.
I learned so much more about his life and travels through this well-written and researched journey. I especially love that the author was not religious- just curious. She was fascinated by his life and followed his footsteps to satisfy her curiosity. It was not a walk of adoration. I believe this perspective gave the story an unbiased authenticity. Her descriptions would make any reader hungry to visit Italy!

In preparation for my upcoming trip to Assisi, I'm perusing this tome.--Back from my trip. This book was a fantastic read to take along with me! The author's writing style is such that the info about St. Francis and the areas he visited is not at all dry or textbooky. Quite the contrary. I would read this one again in the future, and it was an awesome travel companion for my trip!

A wonderful "in the footsteps" kind of travelogue. This is one of my favorite genres--and I really enjoyed re-visiting the biography of Saint Francis as the author travels far and wide following in his footsteps. And wow, the friar traveled far and wide!!! Brava to the author for following him up and down Italy on his various "preaching tours," as well as all the way to Damietta when he famously tried to end the bloodshed of the crusaders in Egypt. The best part of this book is it truly follows the entire life of Francis. The writing is dull, though. Or maybe it was the lack of any personal stamp about why the author decided to write the book--is she a believer? A romantic?-- and more how it was changed. It came across as somewhat mechanical--that is, she wanted to write about St Francis and Claire but her agent suggested a travelogue and sister Claire never left her cloister so.... This book was great and I think anyone going to Assisi would love it, but it really did lack emotion or intellectual illumination of any kind.

After several trips to Italy over the course of decades, I found this book. I have visited Tuscany and Umbria including the great cathedrals in Assisi, visited the caves with a guide and seen the famous frescos. . This little book was a chance to go back and remember that trip and other trips to that part of Italy. I was never following Francis but I crossed his path several times. For some reason I had never read the book, but it is a warm and lovely little book. I am in no way religious but the author’s motivation to understand the power of Francis and how he came to have such an important place in the Catholic Church does not require the reader to be faithful. The miracles performed by Francis are part of his story and the author presents them in a simple and respectful way. I read the book chapter by chapter over the course of a few weeks and it put me in a meditative frame of mind.

Read it because I spent a couple weeks in the region of Italy that this books describes..and yes I must go back soon..but if you read it you will soon tire of the many villages, hermitages, convents, churches and endless miracles of St. Francis..apparently he had one for every passerby and animal...but the author chronicles every one and the tour is great...if you haven't been to that part of Italy as I have ..starve yourself before you go..every meal is six courses and every sight...as the author makes clear is more beautiful than the last..if you are religious..and can emmulate St. Francis..this is your guide.

If/when I take an extended vacation in Italy, I will take along a copy of this book, all marked up with places where I want to visit, stay, and eat! Assisi is my favorite Italian town, and after reading her chapter on that charming place I definitely need to return and see some of the less touristy sites there In her descriptions of the places Francis visited, Francke puts the reader in touch with what I believe is the 'real" Francis, not the one the tourist encounters in the huge cathedral in Assisi, where my Catholic son said in an offended tone, "Francis would hate this!"

Not a thriller of page-turner, this is a book to savor.