Many thanks to the publisher for providing this very accessible introduction to the spiritual writings of Augustine of Hippo. The fourteen selections carry just enough of the flavor of this thinker to whet the reading desire of those who have shied away from Augustine and yet, the selections are fresh so that those familiar with Augustine's work (the Confessions, City of God) will also find themselves longing to renew their contact with this seminal Christian from North Africa.

Even though this book is out of print, if you research, read, and/or study Augustine and his thought, then you do not want to be without this text. John Leinenweber is a first rate translator.

The text includes letters from Augustine to students, the nuns of Hippo, Proba (a widow), Bishop Benenatus, Boniface (count of Africa), the Donatists Schimatics, etc. The letters include rebukes, theology, philosophical issues, concerns about movements or trends in the Christian Church, consultations, etc.

This text, if for no other reason, allows the reader to really pry into the mind of one of the greatest thinkers in the history of theology and philosophy. It allows us to see his concerns, his responses to others in crisis, in dealing with doctrinal issues and the like. The most intriguing thing, I think, about this text is the fact that these letters, even when read today still ring through with strong relevancy! I highly recommend this work!

This book is not out of print. It is readily available from the current publisher, Books on Demand in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The book has been praised as the best treatment of Augustine's Theory of Knowledge available. Chapter topics include an overview of Augustine's philosophical system, his treatment of skepticism, of faith and reason and an extensive examination of his often misunderstood theory of divine illumination.

I devoured Patricia Griffin's well-illuminated history of the Minorcans in British East Florida's New Smyrna colony. Of all the materials written on this subject, her treatment is more comprehensive and more on-the-mark than any I've encountered, including Jane Quinn's Minorcans in Florida published a quarter century ago.

In 1768, some 1,403 souls left the deep-water, sheltered port of Mahon, capital city of Minorca, second largest of Spain's Balearic Islands south and east of Barcelona in the Mediterranean Sea. Approximately one thousand were Minorcan peasants enticed to voluntary servitude that would last nine years in order to buy passage to the New World with the hope of escape from a multi-year famine in their homeland. The other 400 were comprised of Greeks, Italians sprinkled with a handful of Spanish, French and others, equally indentured.

Their promised land turned out to be a mosquito swamp on Florida's east coast a few miles south of present-day Daytona Beach's hedonistic party place. Their new-found "paradise" turned out to be a reeking, stinking indigo plantation created by Scotsman Andrew Turnbull. (His smirking portrait appears on page 79.) Their nine years of slavery turned out to be a hell none of them could have imagined while standing on the wharf at Mahon that fateful spring of emigration.

By the time the survivors of Turnbull's failed plantation straggled 75 miles north to St. Augustine after nine years of brutal servitude, fewer than half of them survived.

The remnant swelled St. Augustine's populaton of 1,200 in 1777 by 50%. Over the intervening two centuries and a quarter, the Minorcans (including Greeks and Italians) have made their mark on America's oldest city.

All in all, Mullet on the Beach is a gripping epic well-treated by a knowledgable author. It's an excellent glimpse into a true saga--another golden thread in the rich tapestry of America.

Our Restless Heart: The Augustinian Tradition by Thomas F. Martin (Associate Professor, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, Villanova University) is a informative presentation introducing the reader to Augustine of Hippo, the theologian, convert, bishop, and polemicist whose spiritual vision holds abiding insights for the faithful across the span of centuries. A thoughtful and philosophical treatise covering the legacy of a great Christian historical figure, Our Restless Heart is a welcome and valued contribution to Roman Catholic Theology in general, and Augustinian Studies in particular.

This is a delightful little book. The insight of the introduction is wonderful, and the translation is faithful. The Rule itself is inspiring, and it becomes clear to the reader why Augustine has had such a lasting impact on Western monastic spirituality and, on a much broader level, Western Theology. This is a must have for any theological library.

I have read lots of Augustine's works, and I am an avid reader of church history. In reading through his letters I have become more aquianted with Augustine and the spiritual and political aspects of his time. Its almost as if you are placed back in history as the story unfolds. There's not any other kind of reading in the world.

The saints come alive in this well-researched and well written book about their lives, making them interesting to followers of any major religious path.

I have been a resident of St. Augustine for many years. I was just amazed with the beautiful pictures in this book. So many of the pictures I could relate to. It really captures the true essence of St. Augustine. It makes me proud to call this town home. If you've ever been to St. Augustine and want to reminisce about your trip, this is the book for you. If you have never been to St. Augustine, I recommend this book to get a true feel of what St. Augustine is like.

As a big fan of Augustine's writing I give this book five stars. The way that he has interwoven his thoughts, feelings, and personal experiences with the humble eloquence of repentance will have you as the reader very exuberant. In reading this work you will learn more of Augustine's life, the spiritual turmoil he faced, and how he came to knowledge of the truth in a most triumphant manner. Although, that's not all that you will find interesting in the Confessions. In fact once Augustine converts to Catholicism and discovers the mystery of the faith, he then proceeds to fill in the blanks philisophically were he had once been left in error. Finally Augustine ponders on the book of Genesis and discourses a respectable point of view on the creation of heaven and earth. Oh Yeah! I forgot to explain how Augustine corresponds the subject matter of this book with a profound emphasis on the Holy Scriptures. So I recommend this masterpiece to anyo ne who has a love for great Latin literature, or to all that wish to read the prestige of Christian writings.

I was asked to read this book as a freshmen in college and I loved it. It is not an easy read, but once you read over a part once more, Augustine's logic makes perfect sense. If you've read any other Augustine, such as "Freedom of the will", this book fits right in there and explains it perfectly. In fact, this book explains most of Augustine's tenants perfectly. If anyone wants to know why Christianity took such a harsh stand against sexual sins...it's Augustine lashing out at his past. He was really tormented. Worship God or worship sex. He chose God and I'm sure he thought about going back. Augustine also developed the full Christian idea of free will, which is manifested in this book as well. Augustine is an incredible figure and a role model for modern Christians. His trials are not much different from ours, seeing as we live in a society so obsessed with sex. Augustine's Confessions is one of my favorite books. A must-read for any theologian and philosopher.

St. Augustine's Confessions is a treasure of Western literature, and, much like the book of Job and the Psalms, really belongs to the heritage of the entire culture and has transcended sectarian importance. That is not to say that these books are not religiously important--of course they are, and the Confessions perhaps even more so to a confessing Christian. Much of what the entire Western church still believes comes straight from the mind and pen of St. Augustine, and to understand his mind one really needs to read the Confessions. Nearly the entire orthodox Catholic tradition of fall-redemption theology sprung full-formed from Augustine's mind, which can be seen in his allegorical interpretaiton of Genesis 1, the section that ends the Confessions and gives them an "unfinished" quality. Augustine was a well-known and revered man when he wrote this book, and rather goes out of his way to depict himself as a youthful deviant to his followers. This is both a heuristic device and what Ausgustine really believes about himself; he is interested in his flock realizing his own fallenness and finitude, and seeing it in themselves as well. A brilliantly modern book for fourth-century fare, it is amenable (at the risk of anachronism)to a multitude of interpretations. Here one can find existential angst, control-dramas, the quest for and the overturning of the ego-self, and an almost pathological study of human guilt (it has been quipped that if the Saint from Hippo had had a good psychotherapist, the Church might have been spared nearly two millennia of sexual dysfunction). Augustine's conversion in the garden reads almost like a kensho experience in Zen. Read the book and draw your own conclusions, but never forget that, as you read, you are sitting at the feet of (and in judgement of) one of the sharpest minds ever produced in Latin Christianity. He writes, "For although I cannot prove to mankind that these my confessions are true, at least I shall be believed by those whose ears are opened to me by love" Book 10.3, and whether or not your ears are open to him in love, they should at least be open. Augustine always has something to say to the careful reader, and no less a careful reader than Derrida lui-même is an inveterate reader and student of Augustine's. Quite a compliment from a reader who certainly does not share Augustine's faith concerns....