Augustine's Confessions: A Biography

Garry Wills, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, provides an unparalleled introduction to Augustine's Confessions, arguing that it is a long prayer addressed to God rather than an autobiography. He highlights the book's Scriptural and theological symbolism and its long afterlife, from controversy to renewed prominence. Wills strips away centuries of misunderstanding and provides a clear and skillfully written account of this spiritual classic.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 176 pages
Publication date: 27 July 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press

From Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills, the story of Augustine's Confessions

In this concise and insightful book, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Garry Wills delves into the story of the Confessions, exploring what motivated Augustine to dictate it, how it should be read, and the various misinterpretations it has faced over the past one and a half millennia. Following Wills's biography of Augustine and his translation of the Confessions, this serves as an unparalleled introduction to one of the most significant books in Christian and Western traditions.

Understandably captivated by the tale of Augustine's life, modern readers have often fallen prey to the temptation to view the Confessions as an autobiography. However, Wills argues that this interpretation is mistaken. The book is not an autobiography but rather a long prayer, infused with the language of Scripture and addressed to God, rather than man. Augustine narrates his life not for its own significance but to discern how it fits into the broader narrative of sin and salvation leading to God. Wills encourages readers to approach Augustine's writings as they would Dante, recognizing the rich layers of Scriptural and theological symbolism present throughout.

Wills also delves into the long afterlife of the Confessions, tracing its journey from controversy in its own time to relative neglect during the Middle Ages, before experiencing a renewed prominence in the fourteenth century and continuing to this day. The Confessions has become an object of interest not just for Christians but also for historians, philosophers, psychiatrists, and literary critics. With unmatched clarity and skill, Wills strips away the centuries of misunderstanding that have accumulated around Augustine's spiritual classic, presenting a fresh and illuminating perspective on this timeless masterpiece.

Weight: 168g
Dimension: 140 x 217 x 12 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780691217642