What is the meaning of life? Should I go to college? What kind of job do I want? - These are the kinds of questions Kreeft (via Socrates) presents to the reader in his book. The dialogs are short, witty, and make excellent points. This book proves that Kreeft is a master of common sense and philosophy. This book would be perfect for mature high school students and any college student (and beyond college too). Of course, the focus of the book is on a question we hardly stop to think about as we trudge through life: What are we living for? Using "means" and "ends" Aristotelian principles, he does an excellent job of bringing about awareness of the Summum Bonum. It is a short and easy read that will challenge the way most Americans live.

I read this book because I teach logic and public policy debate to high school home schoolers. Peter Kreeft harpoons sacred cows, political correctness, philosophy and lazy thinking with humor and razor sharp logic. What a delight! Like all of Kreeft's work, this is not a quick read, but a trememndously valuable one. I'll be introduing this book during second semester. I am buying it for a high school student for Christmas, as well as a personal shelf copy.

This short, simple book carries a powerful punch. A real education is contained within: not mere factual information, but how to actually ask questions and think. I only wish someone had given me a copy when I was in high school, so I could have avoided needless, stupid mistakes.

Reading this book was one of my first steps in the direction of the Catholic Church. Growing up, I had always heard vague disapproval of the Catholic Church; lots of unspecific allusions to Mary-worship, "working your way to heaven", etc. Reading this book, however, lifted the veil and revealed the beauty, depth and truth that is the Catholic faith. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is willing to lay aside preconceived biases and begin an open-minded examination of the Catholic faith. I'm confident that in so doing you will be surprised by truth.

This book 9is a very valuable and useful guide to what the Catholic Church ACTUALLY teaches, rather than what her more vocal opponents would like us to THINK she teaches. It adds "muscle" to the "skeleton" of the Catechism. I would certainly recommend this book for RCIA classes.

Most people will find plowing through the Catechism of the Catholic Church a hardy task. Professor Kreeft comes to the rescue presenting the material faithfully but in his usual light and compact way. A great reference tool!

Philosopher and Cultural Critic Peter Kreeft has written an outstanding book discussing virture in Western Culture. He opens the book by asking "Is Virtue Out of Date?". This sets the tone as he spends the next couple of chapters on how Western Culture got to the point in the lack of virtue we now see before us.

The middle of his book discusses the "Cardinal Virtues" and "Theological Virtues" and their importance. He then does a comparison and contrast between the "Beatitudes" and the "Seven Deadley Sins." His conculsion is a little too short for such a profound work, yet rating this important book four stars would not do it justice. Four and a half would be more appropiate, so I'm rounding it off at five stars.

A Must read for all Christians in Western Culture, and others who are concern about the decline of virtue in our culture.

Peter Kreeft's new book, Back to Virtue, is the best introduction to the topic that I have ever read. Kreeft makes the subject matter appealing, accessible, and understandable.

In the book, Kreeft explains how our civilization has rejected the idea of virtue and why we desparately need to recover this moral vision in order to know true blessedness inwardly and good relationships outwardly. As Thomas Merton wrote, "We are not peace with others because we are not peace with ourselves, and we are not peace with ourselves because we are not peace with God."

Kreeft argues that we need a clear roadmap concerning right and wrong--and that roadmap is clearly discovered in God's Word. "The most striking feature of God's roadmap is the stark fact of the Two Roads. There is the road that leads to Life, and there is the road that leads to Death. There is Good, and there is Evil. There is Right and there is Wrong" (11). We must regain the wisdom of those who have gone before us in order to meet the challenges of the present and the future. C. S. Lewis concisely presents the modern problem: "For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality, and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline, and virtue. For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man, and the solution is a technique." Kreeft argues that we must return to a historic understanding of virtue and vice in order to confront the moral turmoil that surrounds us. "In an age of relativism, orthodoxy is the only possible rebellion left" (189).

With this historical backdrop in place, Kreeft introduces his readers to the four cardinal virtues of justice, wisdom, courage, and moderation. "Cardinal" comes from the Latin word for "hinge". All other virtues "hinge" on these four. He then considers the three theological virtues--faith, hope, and love. Finally, he considers the seven deadly sins and contrasts them with the Beautitudes.

In short, this book is well worth its weight in gold. It is a fine introduction to a subject that needs to be recovered in our society and--even more importantly--in our churches. We are to make every effort to add virtue to our faith (2 Peter 1:5). This book will go a long way in helping us do this.

Back to Virtue is a concise, enthalling roadmap for living for The Good. Hard facts which may eliminate present self satisfaction but can pull you up to a higher level of living.

David Lang's book explains why the Catholic Church takes the position that she has no power to alter the matter used in the sacraments. The matter or material used in each sacrament, whether water in Baptism or wheat bread and grape wine in the Eucharist, matters because it originates in divine choice. Lang shows how that divine choice fits into the long panorama of salvation history recorded in the Scriptures. Lang also relies on philosophical argument to show how particular matter makes a difference. This reasoning also applies to the issue of priestly ordination of women because the proper matter for the sacrament of holy orders is a male candidate. Lang's work illustrates the Catholic view that God works through particular forms of matter and so makes the choice of matter significant. Lang's arguments counteract the New Gnosticism prevalent in modern Western culture that views distinctions between different types of matter as unimportant. It is worth reading because it exposes how the desire of some to arbitrarily change the sacraments contradicts both divine revelation and human reasoning.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested on why the Church so adamantly insists on the importance of particular material substances for the valid use of the God-given means of grace. This book convincingly demonstrates that controversies surrounding such seemingly trivial issues as wheaten vs. non-wheaten bread for the Eucharist evince the great chasm that exists between most of contemporary thought on the one hand and a *truly* Catholic worldview on the other. A philosophical and Scriptural tour de force!

THis is a really concise and useful introduction to C.S. Lewis by one of the leading Lewisian scholars, Dr. Peter Kreeft. While it is only 71 pages, they are full of insight and wit.

The text is broken into five sections. Part one deals with Lewis as a romantic rationalist. Part two concerns "the funeral of a great myth", or, the attack on modernity. Part three discusses Lewis' religious philosophy. Part four is all about his fiction, and part five looks at Lewis' historical significance (the last dinosaur, as he put it).

I am surpirsed that this book is out of print, given its author. So for now you have to search for a used copy. It is, however, worth it. Just remember that it is very short. It is not a mangum opus by any means. But even so, it uses ample excerpts from Lewis' fiction, criticism, and theology making it a great way to see what types of his writings appeal to you. Enjoy!

I became familiar with Kreeft's work when I read his _A Refutation of Moral Relativism_; checked it out from my local library and held on to it for several weeks, reading it front-to-back several times.

Prof. Kreeft uses 40 "tags" to introduce key precepts of philosophy - the love of (the search for) wisdom - and illustrates those tags with excerpts from Plato's "Apology".

Cleanly written, easily comprehensible, and enjoyable, I can't wait to get my hands on more of Dr. Kreeft's work (I have a few items of his in my cart already!).

With a few more works like this, we ought to be able to reverse two centuries of reductionism and relativism disguised as "Enlightenment" and fight the new generation of Sophists back into their caves.

Peter Kreeft is indeed a very brave man to have tackled such a broad and seemingly unanswerable question: Why do we suffer? And where is God in all of our pain? Peter Kreeft attempts to sort through the dilemma that is involved in being human, insert God, and then explain some of our misguidedness and confusion. It's a warm book with some very nice Psalms and thoughts to reflect upon even when we aren't suffering. This book is particularly relevant after 9-11. We all need to take a moment and look through this, it's very comforting.

Peter Kreeft has written an intellectually stimulating book on something we all have to face: suffering. He does so by giving us clues from philosophy, the arts, and the Bible to the meaning of suffering. As a Catholic Christian, Kreeft finds the ultimate meaning of suffering in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. It is a book worth reading and re-reading. In my view, his most striking insight is how in literature, including the biblical story of Job, the protagonist must undergo suffering before the final triumph of good over evil. He urges us to view ourselves as protagonists in the midst of our own life stories. If good finally triumphs, as Christians believe, then the story is worthwhile, even with its inevitable suffering. Like a true philosopher, he also includes a thought-provoking chapter on why modernity can't understand suffering. This is a book that will appeal to all Christians, Catholic or non-Catholic, and to all persons searching to understand the meaning of suffering.

I would like to strongly recommend this book to all. It handles the hard question in a very sober and inspiring way and even humorously :-). Kreeft has not the role of an excathedral theologian or philosopher. No, he is a philosopher in the true sense. Majeneutics, the Socratic method of philosophical dialogue, is mixed with reflexions. The author points out and by hints lets the reader find the answer. He is a seeker, voyager and a challenger like we all. Like any good voyager he has his common sense and lot of experience as compass and ofcourse lot of professional knowledge and wisdom. Thouse of us who luck it or can not structure our life-experiences should read this humble and beautifull creation of a genius. Suffering makes sense. AMDG

A very simply written and fun to read book. Like a good teacher, Kreeft has a knack for using just the right analogy to explain a thorny question. Vivid problems vividly pondered. While not an exhaustive philosophical treatise, it's a fine book for most of us common folk, presenting many problems you will face in your daily life.

Peter Kreeft has written a great little book for all those who are tired of hearing 'it's not so black and white'. Kreeft does an excellent job of explaining, simply and clearly, that right and wrong are objective - regardless of whether or not it is easy or makes someone happy. Kreeft also clears up some moral misconceptions like 'if it doesn't hurt anyone else, then it's ok' and 'the end justifies the means'. Also included in this book is an excellent discussion, scientifically based, on why abortion is objectively wrong (such as the fact that science has always defined a fetus as another human life, science has never been able to come up with a concrete time limit on so-called viability, and that a fetus has a distinct human genetic code that is separate from it's mother's).

While in reading this book Kreeft does spend some time talking about God and his Christian faith, his arguments are philosophically and scientifically sound across the religious spectrum. Regardless of a reader's religion/athiesm, Kreeft's logic applies. While Kreeft argues that morality comes from God, he also demonstrates that one need not know that or believe in God to understand and use objective morals.

This book is highly recommended for all readers who need help with a good strategy for making choices. It would also make an excellent gift for the person in your life who constantly argues that their morality is relative.

"Making Choices" is a book I would recommend to any person in any stage of life. The intensity of the content is coupled with the author's clear and candid writing. This book provides concrete information in a manner that's easy to follow, something that isn't always easy to do when speaking of morality. This book holds truths that unlock the path to happiness in this lifetime and following God's will. "Making Choices" clarifies a topic that is often as clear as mud in today's world. The author summarizes, uses analogies and metaphors, and makes moral absolutes and choices a concept simple for all people to learn, not just philosophers or theologians. If put into practice, this book will change lives for the greater good.

Peter Kreeft of Boston College has performed a work of mercy for those of us who were cheated in college by being kept in blithe ignorance of the greatest Christian philosopher. Ironically, I was cheated at a Catholic university of exposure to Aquinas! But Peter Kreeft has provided selections of Aquinas with generous footnotes explaining and enlightening various passages and even including diagrams for those of us trying to catch up. I can comfort myself with the thought that a well annotated book by Kreeft, who is also a skilled Catholic apologist, is assuredly better than what I probably would have received anyway as an undergraduate in a decidedly confused Catholic university.

One need not be a Christian, nor even a Roman Catholic, to know of the centrality of Saint Thomas Aquinas to medeival philosophy. In his monumental work, the "Summa Theologia" (and, to a lesser extent, the supplementary tract "Summa Contra Gentiles"), Aquinas kept Aristotelian 'pagan' philosophy alive by applying its principles to the Church. Unfortunately, readers today (save for the most devout, I suppose) hardly have the time to read the whole thing. This is where Boston College's Peter Kreeft helps out. Further concentrating his previous Aquinian abridgment, the "Summa of the Summa," Professor Kreeft gives us the most accessible reduction of Aquinas's philosophy with "A Shorter Summa." Well-edited, well-translated, and well-organized, this small book is a fantastic summary of the monumental philosophy written centuries ago by the official Doctor of the Church.

I had the pleasure of taking a class in Medieval Philosophy with Peter Kreeft. We used this text in our survey of St. Thomas Aquinas alongside G.K. Chesterton's "Dumb Ox"--which I also recommend as a secondary source. This is a wonderful introduction into the thought of one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the world. Aquinas's "Summa Theologica" is an overview of Christian philosophy and theology, according to Aquinas. It is, however, over 5,000 pages long--a bit much for the common reader. In "A Shorter Summa" Kreeft has selected and annotated the most vital sections of the Summa, making Thomas's philosophy both accurate and accessible. If you are looking for a little more to chew on, I'd advise Kreeft's other abridgment entitled "Summa of the Summa"--hence, my title. "A Shorter Summa" is a gem, packed with more knowledge than most books five times its size. I not only recommend it; I plead that you give it a whirl.