The Essential Augustine

Very, very good.

A very good collection of topically-arranged excerpts from Augustine. The man was dreadfully important, and wrote copiously. I found this collection useful both as a synthesis of his thoughts, and as a "diving off point" for further study.

Bourke does a wonderful job summarizing Augustine's theology on a wide range of issues: God, the Trinity, the church, etc. It is organized by topic, with a short introduction to each topic. It draws on a much wider selection of his writings than most people will have read.The only drawback is due to the nature of Augustine's prose. Because he has a very particular manner of writting and ensures that the reader follows, passages can be awkward out of context and prevents it from being a quick read. But then again, should Augustine really be a 'quick read'?

The quality of the print was so poor that it appeared blurry. The paper was also poor quality. I do not recommend the book based on the physical appearance.

This slim volume heroically attempts to cover all the main topics which Augustine wrote about copiously. It is useful but has drawbacks: there is virtually no indication of when and how Augustine changed his mind on various points, according to the demands of the controversy he was engaged in. For some of these, e.g. human freedom, there may be no "essential Augustine". The book could have been twice as long with no loss of user-friendliness: I'd have liked more on the controversies with or about competing philosophies of life, e.g. Epicureanism and Stoicism, and on particular philosophers, e.g. Cicero and Seneca.