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12th out of 287 books
—
46 voters
Saint Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi is, after Mary of Nazareth, perhaps the greatest saint in the Christian calendar, and one of the most influential men in the whole of human history. By universal acclaim, this biography by G. K. Chesterton is considered the best appreciation of Francis's life--the one that gets to the heart of the matter.
For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figu...more
For Chesterton, Francis is a great paradoxical figu...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
November 17th 1987
by Image
(first published 1923)
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Feb 09, 2011
Jesse Broussard
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
excellent,
non-fiction
I have one tremendous criticism to make of this book. If you have some perfectly good, bitter resentment towards the Franciscans (entirely legitimate), or towards St. Francis himself, or even the Jongleurs de Dieu, this book will take that exquisite resentment and turn it into an entirely unsatisfactory mushy benevolent feeling.
Another of Chesterton's brilliant works. Frederick Buechner once fondly criticized Chesterton with the comment that he'd written entirely too much for all of it to be exc...more
Another of Chesterton's brilliant works. Frederick Buechner once fondly criticized Chesterton with the comment that he'd written entirely too much for all of it to be exc...more
G.K. Chesterton puts forth a masterful piece of literary work describing the life of St. Francis of Assisi. He first puts St. Francis and his life into historical perspective. Why was his ascetism necessary? Why was the world then ready for someone who could love nature the way he did? Chesterton answers these questions.
Next, he describes what drove St. Francis to his life and then his life. At this point, he has said nothing of those things that would be considered supernatural or miraculous, o...more
Next, he describes what drove St. Francis to his life and then his life. At this point, he has said nothing of those things that would be considered supernatural or miraculous, o...more
This book was written early in Chesterton's career, and soon after he became a Christian, even though St. Francis had always inspired him as a young boy. St. Francis is easy to like, and Chesterton brings him to life. Francis seems almost impulsive in his fervor to do God's will - actly rashly at times in ways that get him into trouble (with his family, the law!) but always with the best of intentions. This book was well-done, although, as with Chesterton's book on St. Thomas, I wish I was bette...more
GK Chesterson is a wonderful writer. He reminds me of C.S. Lewis in that they are both writers of Christian Apologetics but Chesterson knocks Lewis's socks off.
Chesterson says that we can only understand Francis if we think of him as a troubadour of the Middle Ages and accept the fact that he loved God with the passion that we normally associate with romantic love. Chesterson also talks about early Christianity being a turning from the nature worship of the Greeks and the Romans. He feels that t...more
Chesterson says that we can only understand Francis if we think of him as a troubadour of the Middle Ages and accept the fact that he loved God with the passion that we normally associate with romantic love. Chesterson also talks about early Christianity being a turning from the nature worship of the Greeks and the Romans. He feels that t...more
Aprovechando que iba a pasar unos días en La Verna, monasterio franciscano donde el santo recibió los estigmas, retomé la lectura abandonada hace un año de este libro de Chesterton. He reconocer que lo abandoné transcurridas unas pocas páginas, pareciéndome un tostón importante.
Sin embargo, esta vez, superadas las pesadas páginas introductorias, he disfrutado de él. a pesar de que como el autor reconoce este es una mera introducción al personaje, no recomendaría que se leyese como primer libro a...more
Sin embargo, esta vez, superadas las pesadas páginas introductorias, he disfrutado de él. a pesar de que como el autor reconoce este es una mera introducción al personaje, no recomendaría que se leyese como primer libro a...more
I hadn't thought seriously about Francis for a while and this book makes me think I've never thought seriously about him at all. GK rescues Francis from fuzzy Victorian myth and returns him to a most severe Christianity. By reading Francis in the light of him time period (the medieval) and in the light of the troubadour movement, GKC reveals the romantic passion underlying the saint's religious severity. The Franciscans were born as a romantic movement, sacrificing all for the Beloved. Francis l...more
Beware the audio version of this book available from audible.com. The unremitting monotone of the narrator and overall poor quality of the recording combined to make this a difficult book to power through. I readily admit that i zoned out for long periods. But i did retain at least some of what i heard and the main take-home message is that St. Francis blazed the way for a new kind of monk. Rather than spending their lives sequestered away in isolated monasteries, this new breed of monk drifted...more
This book read more like one of Chesterton's personal dilemmas - complaining that historians write about historical figures without giving historical context. He rambles on about how to write a good biography rather than teaching the reader. I found it difficult to read. St. Francis is awesome though.
Dense to read, but an excellent provider of insight into the famous saint's life. Provides religious guidance as well as historical context.
I'd Challenge non-Catholics to find anything reprehensible or tainted in Chesterton's treatment of his subject.
I'd Challenge non-Catholics to find anything reprehensible or tainted in Chesterton's treatment of his subject.
I picked up the book hoping to read a thorough biography of St. Francis, and though I was moved by the Franciscan anecdotes the author shared, this is largely an overwrought essay by G. K. Chesterton defending his new conversion to Catholicism and luxuriating in his self-conscious witticisms: "There are many who will smile at the saying; but it is profoundly true to say that the glad good news brought by the Gospel was the news of original sin" (28). Fine, it's pithy, but where is your editor?!...more
Describing Francis' death, Chesterton writes: "...there was a sudden stillness...for the stopping of the great heart that had not broken till it held the world." In a mere 150 pages, Chesterton captures a phenomenal character, making many interesting asides along the way. He (Chesterton) is without any equivocation an apologist for the Catholic Church, but he does it with the sort of grace that makes one think twice. I am happily Unitarian Universalist, but if I ever became a Catholic it would b...more
You can read my full review at Quieted Waters.
In the opening pages, Chesterton describes this biography as a sketch of the famous man. Rather than attempting a full picture, the author chose to paint a brief description. Additionally, Chesterton makes no attempt in these pages to explain the variety of miracles alleged to have occurred in the life of St. Francis. As he explains at the outset, Chesterton’s goal is to present a skeptical reader with an introduction to this saint.
Read this for a retreat I took with John Michael Talbot back in 1998. Finally reread it or rather re-listened to it. In light of our new Holy Father's choice of a namesake, I want to listen to it again. Chesterton's writing is dense and needs a great deal of unpacking. It includes a long introductory explanation about how a biographer might approach the life of this unusual historical figure. Francis of Assisi, born Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, has so many popular legends and untruths assoc...more
A short introduction to Francis of Assisi. Chesterton acknowledges that he is only skimming the surface and is writing for a skeptical newcomer to the subject. The chapters are more topical than chronological, and thus the outline of Francis' life is somewhat fragmented. Chesterton considers Francis a key figure (the key figure, perhaps) in the emergence of the Middle Ages and the modern world, in that he was independent of the classical distant past and moved beyond the asceticism and withdrawa...more
I picked this up when I was thinking about preaching about St. Francis last week - turns out I decided to talk about IKEA and tell a dating story. But I'm glad I read the book, if only because Chesterton is so hilariously crotchety and interesting: this old donnish grandfather who sits in his study nibbling on his pen and comes out with brilliant work but ink spilled all over his tweeds and cold stewed tea. And will someone please read the second chapter and tell me if he's making veiled referen...more
Has G.K. Chesterton really written far too much for it all to be good? I haven't read anything of his that I didn't like.
An amazing glimpse of saint Francis, a really enjoyable work of Chesterton, and a book I would enjoy reading again. It's a very surface level book, mostly written for the skeptic or for a person who is not too familiar with St Francis, which is actually most people even if they have a statue of him in their yard...
I like books that tell a story, this book isn't so much in st...more
A Warning:
If you are a person new to the life of St. Francis and if it is your objective to know more of the saint's life then this is not the book for you. G. K. Chesterton himself says that this is just an introduction. But I would say that this is not an inclusive and appropriate introduction into the saint's life for the new and inquiring person.
But if you are well aware of the life of st. Francis then this book can serve you well by offering few interesting reflections on some of the vents...more
If you are a person new to the life of St. Francis and if it is your objective to know more of the saint's life then this is not the book for you. G. K. Chesterton himself says that this is just an introduction. But I would say that this is not an inclusive and appropriate introduction into the saint's life for the new and inquiring person.
But if you are well aware of the life of st. Francis then this book can serve you well by offering few interesting reflections on some of the vents...more
I love Chesterton so it's hard to go wrong with this one. It's written to nonbelievers and believers, so it kind of rises above some of the folklore surrounding St. Francis. He paints a picture of an impetuous character, a court jester, a romantic troubador, and above all a man who found freedom in serving the world around him. I feel like he adds a lot weight to Francis' persona, more than just a lover of animals and nature. Although it's a large part of his philosophy.
Just read through St. Francis for the third time and, if you like this sort of topic, Chesterton does a quite good (completely Chestertonian approach) treatment of St. Francis. Haven't read Kazantzakis's book on Francis in a while, but first time I read either of them I read both in close succession and found it quite worthwhile to read them like that. Another option (that i am about to finish up) is to read Chesterton's St. Francis and his St. Thomas Aquinas in sequence...also pretty worthwhile...more
This is a rambling account of one of the most quintessential saints of the Middle Ages. The strength of this book is the attempt Chesterton makes to delve into the character and motivations of Francis humanizing him for the reader. The one pitfall is the assumption that Christianity is representative of an inevitable apex of human spiritual development. Although a typical mindset for the era and audience for which he was writing, this mindset calls into question other generalizations Chesterton...more
Well, if you are interested in a biography of St. Francis, this is not the book for you. If you want a poetic, intellectual, slightly rambling, Kerouac-esque outline of St. Francis, then there you go. This is my first book by Chesterfield, so I don't know if he always writes like this -- if so, I may avoid him. It was short, I'll give him that! I did learn a little about the actual subject matter, but if this book hadnt been short, I wouldn't have finished it.
Chesterton is, in my opinion, an ideal author for this reflection on St. Francis (it's not really a biography, more of an extended musing). Everybody loves Francis, but very few really get him, so the world ends up brushing aside the full personality of the man (a great loss). GKC gets Francis. This book does much to restore the full picture of Francis, and beautifully so. If I could I'd quote the whole book at you.
At least 50% of this book is the author telling us what and how he is going to be writing about St.Francis. The recent is a few anecdotes about St.Francis, mostly used as an introduction to his own petty and ill conceived opinions, with a side order of mud slinging at his own contemporaries opinions.
Definitely one to avoid if you are looking to actually find out something about St.Francis!
Definitely one to avoid if you are looking to actually find out something about St.Francis!
G.K. Chesterton is too little known in this age, but in my opinion tops the legendary (particularly amongst evangelical circles) C.S. Lewis. Here he presents the fascinating biography of St. Francis in a style that only Chesterton can produce. His magnificent prose does justice to this giant of Christian history. It is widely considered the finest biography of St. Francis ever written.
Chesterton's characterization of Francis is wonderful, and strikes at the heart of what made the saint such a compelling, charismatic figure. Unfortunately, too much of the book becomes a long-winded defense of Catholic theology, and Chesterton's trademark heavens-I-love-the-sound-of-my-own-voice writing style does little to soften the blow of boredom that these passages inspire.
Fascinating biography of St. Francis, which takes his faith and miracles seriously without turning in to a hagiography. The author provides much by way of explanation about the saint, and concentrates on what St. Francis can teach us moderns. Much of the writing is vintage Chesterton, but St. Francis' life and importance clearly shine through.
Nov 12, 2008
Chelsea
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
People interested if both radically self-less love and reckless trust in mankind can actually work.
Recommended to Chelsea by:
Br. Robert at St. Catherine of Sienna in SLC, Utah
There are quotes from this book that I will forever hold dear to my heart. He also painted a lovely picture of Christ and His love for humanity- one I have never considered or seen before.
I really had a hard time, however, getting through the first few chapters of this book. I had originally decided to give it only 1 star UNTIL I got to the last 3 chapters. In the last 3 chapters everything from the first few chapters, of what I thought was just garble, came together to make the book a real wort...more
I really had a hard time, however, getting through the first few chapters of this book. I had originally decided to give it only 1 star UNTIL I got to the last 3 chapters. In the last 3 chapters everything from the first few chapters, of what I thought was just garble, came together to make the book a real wort...more
I was looking for a spiritual book to listen to during lent on my daily drive to work.
I was interested in St. Francis having visited Assisi years ago.
This was the first time I had read/listened to a Chesterton book and the colourful language of Chesterton certainly made for an interesting book.
Worth a read/listen if you are interested in St. Francis but not a lot of detail is covered in this short book.
Enjoyable all the same.
I was interested in St. Francis having visited Assisi years ago.
This was the first time I had read/listened to a Chesterton book and the colourful language of Chesterton certainly made for an interesting book.
Worth a read/listen if you are interested in St. Francis but not a lot of detail is covered in this short book.
Enjoyable all the same.
It's well written, well researched and everything else one can expect from a biography by Chesterton. Chesterton was a Christian Apologist, which for a very long time I thought meant that he was apologising for Christianity and the horrors committed in its name. I have a better understanding of it now. As one can imagine, his books reflect his views and this one is no different. It is, however, a very readable biography of a man who, if other biographies I've read are right, was quite a radical...more
Not nearly as much a book about Francis as a book about Chesterton. You can learn a little about Francis here but this is mainly Mr. Chesterton's ode to himself and his opinions. His effort to explain away the Inquisition is particularly bizarre. He does have some great lines and insights though, in particular his description of mysticism.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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| Didn't learn enough | 2 | 7 | May 02, 2013 01:04pm |
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) cannot be summed up in one sentence. Nor in one paragraph. In fact, in spite of the fine biographies that have been written of him (and his Autobiography), he has never been captured between the covers of one book. But rather than waiting to separate the goats from the sheep, let’s just come right out and say it: G.K. Chesterton was the best writer of the twent...more
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“The good Bishop of Assisi expressed a sort of horror at the hard life which the Little Brothers lived at the Portiuncula, without comforts, without possessions, eating anything they could get and sleeping anyhow on the ground. St. Francis answered him with that curious and almost stunning shrewdness which the unworldly can sometimes wield like a club of stone. He said, 'If we had any possessions, we should need weapons and laws to defend them.”
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“The moment sex ceases to be a servant it becomes a tyrant.”
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Mar 13, 2011 10:01am