Celtic Books

While I have not worked through this book as directed (hey--I'm just being honest here!), I have worked through most of the exercises and prayers over about a year. I loved them, and doing this work has helped me have a deeper magical practice, and to be more of who I have always wanted to be.

the magic of the fey folk is often deceptively simple--but very potent. Ms. De Grandis guides her reader forward, and ever deeper into true magic, while having that work often appear simple and fun.

I am a different person having worked through this book (as well as her others).

And if you've enjoyed working with this book, go get The Modern Goddess' Guide to Life: How to Be Absolutely Divine on a Daily Basis. It's Ms. De Grandis' humor book--and when I'm having a bad day, I like to pick it up to read to remind me of all I learned about myself and The Goddess in this book and GODDESS INITIATION.

I've given this book to three women and two men interested in the craft. It's a fantastic book, with some good exercises in it, not just for beginners, but for more advanced practitioners as well (I've beeen in the craft for 10 years now).

currently, I am doing lessons from this this book.It is an excellent book to get in touch with the goddess.It has a lot of powerful information.A++

What a writer...what a woman....what a shaman..... written with info, humor, honesty, and lots of potent inner work. greeeeaaaaat book.

At first, I started to read with a bucketful of salt, because of the claims in the title, which seemed a bit 'instant magic', but I think Ms De Grandis presents her views and the way she works in a really helpful manner, and I found the lesson plan & week by week format really helpful. After researching other people's views, I came to understand the inaccuracies, but there is a section at the beginning where Ms De Grandis says that she uses some terms interchangeably, whereas their meanings are not all the same, so I didn't have a problem with the Celtic Shamanism/Wicca/Witchcraft/Faery Trad issue at all.
I think this book contains a lot of relevant information, and I think even if you didn't agree with some of the content, you could at least get a lot of extremely good prayers/exercises from this book. I think the psychology and overall explanations are detailed enough, and this book really made a difference to me. I thought it was excellently written and really, really useful and informative.
I read other reviews and learned that some people were displeased with this book, but to be honest, I doubt anyone is only going to read one book on this subject, and if you read a wide range of material, you can get a feel for what is right or wrong for you, and gather more information. I mean, you don't just accept everything there, you read more about Celtic Shamanism or Wicca from other authors, and your knowledge grows. The more you read, the more you learn!
This is a fantastic book that I would recommend to anyone to read, but I would always advise reading a wide range of material!

The cards are very easy to read, one does not even need the book to accompany them. The images are very creative and at the same time very close to the original images. The cards meanings are depicted in Druid theme images and scenes. Some images significantly differ from original Raider-White deck but in the way that the original meaning is preserved. It's hard to explain, one has to see it.
The book is also great. I've been reading tarot cards for years and I found the meanings in the book to be very similar to the meanings I've come to know from practice. Those cards grow on you: since I got this deck I hardly use anymore my other decks.

In addition to the card meanings the book also has a little bit of info on tarot history as well as sample spreads. Both the deck and the book are totally worth it

I ENJOY USING THIS TAROT DECK AND SO DOES MY FUTURE HUSBAND. THIS IS HIS FIRST DECK AND HE FINDS IT VERY EASY TO FOLLOW. THE CARDS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND THE MEANINGS SEEM TO BE MORE DESCRIPTIVE AND EASIER TO UNDERSTAND THAN SEVERAL DECKS OUT THERE. I ALSO LIKED PAIRING THIS WITH THE "POWER TAROT" BOOK. THE DECK IS A LARGER DECK WHICH IS GREAT FOR LARGER HANDS AND FITS A MAN PERFECTLY!

This is an easy to use deck that is a delight to the hand. Beautiful imagery and an easy to use book.

The Druid Tarot is a wonderful imagery of the Celts. It allows any level reader to delve into the images and find the messages that lay beneath their surface. A wonderful addition to any tarot collection and a fabulous deck to help beginners on their own path to divination. The accompanying book provides a wonderful insight into each card and it's depiction of Celtic life as well. If you want to learn how to read the Tarot, this is a good place to start.

In line with the many positive reviews that this book and deck have already received, I too strongly reccommend the Druid Craft Tarot book and deck combination. I have owned numerous tarot decks and books over my life and enjoyed almost all of them. But this book and deck are clearly in another league. The pictures are inspiring and the book the most outstanding that I have read. Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm have put together a masterpiece of wisdom and heart rendering interpretations, and Mr. Worthington's deck is a beauty to behold. Even if you are not psychic, the Carr-Gomm book guides you through the reading of each card. If you are psychic, it is as if you have a kindred soul by your side lighting the way through the darkness and whispering the secrets of the path that you are traveling. I obviously strongly recommend buying this book and the cards that go with it. Your life will be enriched. You will have in your library one of the best and most beautiful tarot books and cards available. Thank you Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm as well as Mr. Worthington, for bringing to the rest of us such a wonderful combination.

Excellent in every way!! The crown jewel of aran knitting books!!

This is a beautiful book. It's "COFFEE TABLE" beautiful. The history of Aran knitting, and the photographt are gorgeous.

The sweaters that Alice Starmore designed are wonderful. The mens sweaters are timeless, but the women's sweaters are a bit dated. This could be easily remidied by adjusting the fit of the sweater while using the stitches that are part of the original design.

Alice Starmore has a number of nice stitch patterns in the book that are also listed in numerous other knitting stitch books (The Big Book of Knitting, The Harmony Guide to Knitting Stitches Vol. 1 and 2, Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting, Charted Knitting Designs by Barbara G. Walker, The Complete Book of Knitting by Barbara Abbey, to name a few). There are a couple of Celtic cable patterns that are more intriguing, but is it worth buying the book for $100+ just to have access to those few stitches?

So, to sum it up. I would definitely give this book 5 stars on overall first impression, even on the sweater patterns and charts, but as far as the stitches within the book - about 4 stars, there are many other books out there with more comprehensive patterns. Buy the book if you want the history, the sweater patterns, but if you're looking for a good book on Aran Knit Stitches, try a stitch encyclopedia book and come up with your own designs.

Not only are the photographs and the settings breathtaking, but Alice Starmore designs are classics. Each pattern gives you detailed directions and includes a rating guide for easy, intermediate and expert knitters.
Yes, some of the yarns are no longer available - but using the gauge given, you should have no trouble finding a yarn to substitute.
It's the details that count - the pleasing arrangement of the stitch sections and the saddles on some of the sweaters.
If you ever get an opportunity to grab this book at a reasonable price, do not hesitate.

Wow, I would like to order the Hebridean yarn from Alice Starmore for the following project, but she says that one needs a copy of Aran Knitting for the instructions. I don't really feel like paying hundreds of dollars for the book (no knitting book is worth that much, no matter how much I hold Alice Starmore in esteem!) Can anyone who has this book help me with the instructions to this shawl (below) - my email is [...]:

ST CIARAN

St Ciaran is worked in Hebridean 3 Ply on 4.5mm needles with a tension of 21 sts and 28 rows to 10cm measured over St.St. Revised width and length measurements are shown in the detail.
Available in any colour of Hebridean 3 Ply.

I just picked up a copy of this book at my library for free!

I've been reading Celtic Daily Prayers for five years now, and
love to re-read some prayers with their Celtic rhythm and images.
And there's much to explore. There are two series of daily
readings for the year with Biblical references for each day.
I find inspiration from this treasure of a book.

I have used the Celtic Daily Prayer every day for about 5 months. I read the Scriptures for the day, the meditation for the day of the year, and the meditation for the day of the month (repeats). It is consistently outstanding. I have distributed about 10 copies to our church ministers and leaders, and their response has been very positive.

The Celtic Daily prayer book has been a tool I have used for many years.
It has proven to be a source of inspiration, reflection, teaching, refreshment, and I could list many more.

I hope more western Christians will try this tool to draw nearer to the Lord and become more aware of traditions and tools that have developed Disciples for hundreds of years.

For many years, liturgy and formal prayers have been out of favor in Protestant Churches. Many of us are realizing that this rich tradition guarded by our (mostly) Catholic brothers and sisters has a very vibrant place in modern Christian spirituality. The wealth of tradition and unity offered by liturgical worship may be the next "in thing" for Protestants. We've already made hymns cool.
This books serves as a wonderful introduction to some of those practices. There are three sections of set prayers, two with scripture readings and meditations, plus a compline for each day. The CD, which I can't find on Amazon, makes for easier memorization of the prayers and blessings. The book also includes blessings and liturgies for baptisms, communion, marriage, and the like.

Celtic Daily Prayer is a great resource for someone new to the Daily Office, or as an alternative source of liturgies for those already accustomed to this form of worship.

For those interested in an overview of Traditional Christianity, Marcia Ford's Traditions of the Ancients: Vintage Faith Practices for the 21st Century might be a good place to start.

This Prayer Book is a great volume for those who have little free time for extended formal prayer. Not only is it used by the Northumbria Community in Great Britain, it is also used by Anamchara Fellowship, as our main community prayer book. The suggestion for Scripture lessons is a little thin, so we suppliment our daily readings with the lectionary of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. It works well for us.

I play piano, and I like this music. The piano parts, for the most part, have the melody in them and are very pretty on their own rather than being just an accompaniment. Like someone else said, a spiral-bound version would be easier to keep open, but it's not a big deal for me, especially since I'm just playing it for fun.

Love it! Love it! Love it! Medium difficulty and beautiful songs. All my favorites are there! Highly recommended!

Worth the wait to finally get Celtic Woman in print! Exceptional music for the vocalist who sings in this range.

I am a huge Celtic Woman fan and I absolutely love this songbook. My only complaint, is I wish there were a sequel to it already! The songs are playable and well written and of course, beautiful. For anybody who loves Celtic Woman, this music collection is a must!

As someone who loves owning the sheet music to my favorite songs, I have bought a lot of different songbooks. Most have just been okay - altered melody lines, altered piano lines to be easy for the beginner. This songbook goes way beyond the beginner - not necessarily in difficulty, but because it gives you a sound closer to the original music than I've ever seen in a songbook. I am so glad I bought this!

a marvelous book of blessings - a gift from John O'Donohue - who has recently died much too soon...his written legacies will continue to inform, and nurture his readers

O'Donohue has blessed us with this profound treasure. It is replete with soul - a companion for all the seasons and incidents of life.

I can't begin to say enough about this book. It is a collection of "blessings" for all occasions, moods and daily events. Buy it. If you own a copy of Anam Cara then you'll be lown away bu this one.

This book is beautiful in itself as well as in it's contents. John o'Donohue is a poet and an artist with words. These blessings can be used for so many situations. I highly recommend this book.

Bless the Space Between Us is a great book of wonderfully simple yet insightful poems and blessings. If we all blessed the spaces between us, there wouldn't be any spaces as we could all just be the one among us. Beautifully written and lovely in its grace and language.

Reading Bill's work has given me a new outlook on my own Celtic heritage, and I'm finally 'hearing' the songs and stories my grandparents couldn't share with me. In 'A Celtic Childhood', Bill proves himself a true Bard in the modern world, serving his own happiness, tears, songs, stories & wit with the world. And we come back begging for seconds... And thirds.

Drop dead funny, but also bittersweet. I loved this book and recommended it to all my friends

I was caught up in this first book by Bill immediately because of his warmth, humor, and the amazing way that his unsurpassed storytelling skills vividly draw you into the events of his childhood as though you were right there. A Celtic Childhood reveals the humor and heart and goodnatured view on life that Bill exudes today, in spite of any troubles and hard times. His perspective on life is very refreshing, and not at all bogged down by any self-pity or guilt as others have unfortunately exhibited in memoirs.

It's very difficult to put this book down. There are adventures around every corner which all turn out inevitably funny no matter how disastrous. These are told at an exciting and rapid pace similar to a child's energy and intake of experience. In particular, I love the language and the rhythm -- the ways that Bill questions in his early years the meanings behind common phrases, sayings, and words. His view of the adult lives around him are hysterical and apt!

His inclusion of a glossary and tune lyrics, as well as injection of many insights and facts of Celtic history, lore, and culture all serve to make this memoir an incredibly rich and vital read, that will leave an indelible imprint upon the heart and mind of all who read it.

Rarely have I read a book with such heart, and phenomenal wit and way with words. Bill's a grand storyteller, and a wonderful, generous and multi-talented human being. Looking very forward to reading "Scotland is Not for the Squeamish", and the 3rd book in this trilogy when it comes out next year!

I was caught up in this first book by Bill immediately because of his warmth, humor, and the amazing way that his unsurpassed storytelling skills vividly draw you into the events of his childhood as though you were right there. A Celtic Childhood reveals the humor and heart and goodnatured view on life that Bill exudes today, in spite of any troubles and hard times. His perspective on life is very refreshing, and not at all bogged down by any self-pity or guilt as others have unfortunately exhibited in memoirs.

It's very difficult to put this book down. There are adventures around every corner which all turn out inevitably funny no matter how disastrous. These are told at an exciting and rapid pace similar to a child's energy and intake of experience. In particular, I love the language and the rhythm -- the ways that Bill questions in his early years the meanings behind common phrases, sayings, and words. His view of the adult lives around him are hysterical and apt!

His inclusion of a glossary and tune lyrics, as well as injection of many insights and facts of Celtic history, lore, and culture all serve to make this memoir an incredibly rich and vital read, that will leave an indelible imprint upon the heart and mind of all who read it.

Rarely have I read a book with such heart, and phenomenal wit and way with words. Bill's a grand storyteller, and a wonderful, generous and multi-talented human being. Looking very forward to reading "Scotland is Not for the Squeamish", and the 3rd book in this trilogy when it comes out next year!

Bill Watkins book is a breath of fresh air with a unique style of prose, seldom, if at all, found these days. Poetic, humorous and delightfully witty, the oral tradition of Watkins Celtic roots opens a door to a rich heritage that even a non Celt can appreciate. All ages will love this many-layered tale of wild adventure, mothers especially.

I took this book, along with a plethora of touristy guidebooks, and this one got read the most! We spent hours and hours in the Forum and the Palatine, and really delighted in uncovering the mysteries of so many building foundations. I left Rome wishing I had an archaeologist as a personal tour guide, but this book was an excellent substitution! It can be read at home, but I found infinitely more meaning when I sat at the site and read about where I was. Take this to Rome if you are interested in the ancients!

I had the fortune or misfortune of buying this book prior to my first visit to Rome. It is such a well-organized, well-written, and concise guide to ancient Rome that you could make the mistake that I made upon completing it and my first visits there. You might search a long, long time and spend a lot of money trying to find something better. Based upon my experience, a university-level seminar or a three semester hour course is the only thing that could surpass this guide.

Don't be put off by simplified plans shown in the pages. You need clear, simple ideas of what the stuff once was to understand what you're looking at. When you're in the ruins, you will be surrounded by other tourists, any changing weather conditions, and you will be viewing the architectural remains of a previous civilization from many different standpoints. You can't do that successfully without a clear, simple concept already in your mind.

Fodor's Holy Rome, 1st Edition: A Millennium Guide to Christian Sights (Fodor's Holy Rome)

You can't really understand Rome without this companion. It looks deeply into the very heart of the city, into its foundations and the stories they tell. This is practical archaelology at its best, presenting us with the lessons that history can teach us.

I used this book for my second trip to Rome and it was absolutely invaluable. I wish that I had it for my first trip. I am a person who only cares about the Ancient Roman artifacts and this book literally has ever one listed by region that you have access to. If you decide to use this book bring along a highlighter and check off the sections that you complete, by the end of the day you will be amazed at how much you have seen. I cannot recommend this book enough.

I just returned from Rome, using this book as my primary guide. We were able to identify almost every random bit of ancient archaelogy sticking out of the ground as we walked about the city, and if you've been to Rome, you'll understand how impressive that is.

A major shortcoming that I noticed is that the book treats the ancient-era churches very lightly: while the myths of gods such as Pollux and Castor are frequently referenced in relation to the ancient sites, the C1 AD story of Saint Clement is inexplicably left out of the section on the church of San Clemente constructed by Constantine. Also, as the author states in the beginning, the intent of this guide is to detail ancient Rome only. If you are interested in medieval, Renaissance, or ecclessiastic history, you will certainly need a supplemental guide.

Now, for the advantages... The guide systematically presents every ancient structure in Rome (we were never disappointed), providing a very good map at the beginning of each chapter for a major area (e.g. the Palatine, Field of Mars) to help you identify what you are looking at. The site is laid out in a sort of walking tour format and if you begin at the point suggested, you can follow the chapter page by page as it logically guides you through the region. We did find that writing in page references for each location on the map at the beginning made the book much easier to use. For more complicated buildings, additional diagrams are provided in the appropriate subsection where it is further detailed. The Baths of Caracalla are a superb example of this.

While Claridge delves a bit too thoroughly into the exact type of marble used in the facing and floors of each building, you find yourself recognizing the materials and envisioning the baths, basillicas, and forums as they might have looked clad in Phyrgian red and Numidian yellow marbles. With frequent referencing, we soon became familiar with Caracella, Domitian, and Nerva as we viewed the great construction projects they enacted. The author presents quite clearly the historical origin and significance of each site as well as its original appearance (if known) and the many refurbishments it went through with the frequent fires of Rome.

For our trip, we opted out of taking any tours, and we didn't feel we missed anything. We were often surrounded by tours and gained more information from our book than the guide was sharing with his group. You never know how reliable a guide really is, and with this book, you can be assured of Amanda Claridge's credentials. The trip became a bit of a mystery adventure for us as we excitedly reconstructed the ruins around us into the elegant structures they once were.

Even if you do decide to go with a more mainstream guide book for your trip to Rome, you will find this one to be an invaluable supplement for all those tidbits that the major guides just don't have time to cover.

This book was amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and it inspired many thoughts and ideas for me. This is one of the books that is good for almost anyone: it has suspense, mystery, fantasy, myth and lore, adventure, discovery, and an outstanding plot. Even though it is fantastical, it was realistic in a way that it almost felt that everything in the book really could happen, and I could easily relate to the main character. I strongly suggest that everyone at least try reading this book, for there is so much in it that you will love!

Julie Hahnke has begun a new series of fun, imaginative books. My grand daughter and I finished this book and are begging for a sequel. Julie's descriptive text has the reader, young or old, wrapped up in the story and becoming the characters themselves.
The author has done her research for this book's setting and characters, encouraging learning and making it fun.

I am well over 13 *won't say how much over :-)* and enjoyed this tremendously, as well did my 21 year old daughter and 15 year old son.
You've got magic, mystery, drama and so much more in one book.
I've been an avid fan of Harry Potter and have been looking for a new series to sink my teeth into.
This is it!!!
Well written, great Scottish folklore *something I love, being a scot* with a very readable and enjoyable plot.
I met this author at the Highland Games in Brunswick, ME and purchased this book there from her, which she signed, and got a chance to talk with her. She was tremendous, as is her book.
Can't wait for the second part, hope it isn't too long in coming.
Only three in the series??? Definately need more!

It has been a long time since I last read a book from beginning to end without putting it down. I enjoyed Kelly, a real girl that is thrust into a new life with many surprises to come from unexpected places. It's fast paced, has great imagery, and intelligent mystery. Being of Celtic heritage it does bring you back and makes you believe there is more to come. When is the next book coming out? Thank you Julie Hahnke for adding this gem. Disney or someone should look at this as one of their next movies.

Readers of any age will enjoy Kelly's adventurous, new life in an old Scottish manor house inhabited by a variety of interesting and curious characters. Kelly's discovery of ancient Celtic lore and mysteries leads her on a journey that will truly delight your senses, tickle your funny bone and pique your imagination. I can hardly wait for the sequel.

In The Confessions of Saint Augustine, Augustine concentrates on his powerful and zealous ongoing spiritual questions. His dairy- type book tells of the history of one man's struggle to obtain and maintain a close spiritual walk with God. John K. Ryan translated the book in an attempt to make Augustine's work more reader friendly.
John K. Ryan's translation of "The Confessions of Saint Augustine" is a very easy book to read. His 22-page introduction and notes with Bible scriptures at the back of the book help the reader understand and tie together St. Augustine's work. The scriptures that Ryan provided the reader appeared to come from the King James Bible. With this in mind, I examined the possibility that Ryan was Protestant and not Catholic in his own spiritual ideology. I than questioned if that had tainted his translation. Therefore, I read parts of other translations of the Confession found on the Internet and discovered them all to be like-minded. I concluded that Ryan's translation didn't show any bias, but tried to relay to the reader that Saint Augustine's true desire was to understand God's "Will". Therefore, Augustine was portrayed as a sinner turned saint. The book was organized in a chronological manner, taking the reader from the beginning of Augustine's spiritual journey to being known as a saint and a church father. Ryan's approach to translating "The Confession of Saint Augustine" was a social history because his translations were geared toward the aspects of civil society that show the evolution of social norms, behaviors, and more.
"The Confessions of Saint Augustine" is a valuable read because it offers a first hand look at how Augustine struggled to understand God's divine power and aspiration for his life, and to be of assistance to others in the future. He raised questions that men and women since time began have questioned during their sacred walk with the Supreme Being known as God. His personal thirst for righteousness consumed his life, and he is known as one of the great Christian thinkers.
The Confession was not what I thought it would be. I truly thought it would be a book full of confessions from a saint that was "suppose" to be a prefect person that had fallen by the spiritual wayside. Instead, the Confession was like an autobiographical journal, which did included doctrine, scriptures, studies, praise, memories, and confessions. I was impressed by his ability to swing from scriptures to his own thoughts, but had you not read the scriptures prior to reading the book you may not have realized the source of this information.
Augustine was a wonderful philosopher/thinker and his writings have been the subject of many discussions throughout history since it was written in 397 A.D. However, the Confession was written in a prayer-like manner addressing various issues making it difficult to focus on the subject for long periods of time.
Some of the things Augustine questioned to the "simple-minded" or should I say "non-philosopher type" is somewhat of a given. For example: in The Infant Augustine, he wrote, "I myself do not remember this. Therefore, the comfort of human milk nourished me, but neither my mother nor my nurse filled their own breast. Rather, through them you gave me as an infant's food in accordance with your law and out of the riches that you have distributed even down to the lowest level of thing." (7) Why did he question such things? Female animals of all types feed their young from the breast. This is natural. He apparently was so far above me as a thinker that where he was going with this is beyond my comprehension, unless, he was just saying, "Thank you Lord for supplying my needs even as a child, when I knew you not." He almost said these same words in the next few sentences but to go back so far and question every aspect is as I said before, beyond my comprehension.
As you can tell I have never read a book of this nature before unless you count the King James Bible, but I did try to keep an open mind. I was surprised that he didn't appear to be a happy Christian in all his efforts to be "Christ like". This disappointed me. However, there were times while reading the book I could relate to Augustine and many of his questions. This book reminded me that no matter what God a person chooses to serve, as human beings we want to become the best we can be spiritually.
During my reading I realized that Augustine through his quest for righteousness must have gone through many of the same stages that persons in earlier cultures and time periods have. For example: he questioned what pleased God, how should he praise and show his thankfulness to God, and in what way did he want to serve God. Throughout world history these same questions have been asked at one time or another.
Ryan did a wonderful job of translating the Confession. Augustine's book written like a diary made the confessions more personal. He was one of the greatest thinkers and Christian fathers of his era. His spiritual struggles were genuine; his desire for righteousness was obvious in his writing. I sit in awe at his wisdom and his pursuit of knowledge. This book was a good read and I will study it again someday. It gave me insight to what other cultures throughout history underwent to comprehend and to determine what path of Christianity they would embrace.

Any edition of Confessions of Saint Augustine is "must" reading for anyone who has traveled a road of self-examination about right/wrong, good/evil and finding truth. Augustine surely dissected his own belief system and came to terms with the meaning and purpose of life. I have read several translations of Confessions and have found them all worthwhile reading. I shall yet, read them again.

Let me just begin by saying that this book is brilliant. Augustine is one of the greatest thinkers that the world has ever known, and it shines through in this book. In this book, Augustine manages to cover an amazing number of topics, and does so in a beautiful way, filled with prayers to God.

I am not sure what the reviewer from June 10, 2005 is talking about. I think that they were reviewing the wrong book. This book is 400 some pages, not 90, and it is the complete version, not an introduction or abridgement.

Normally when I read books I underline quotes or passages that I think are especially good, or that I think I will be able to use in papers in the future. I then write the page numbers of the pages that have underlining on the back page. In this book, however, I ended up writing the pages numbers of pages I DIDN'T underline in on the back, since I underlined something on nearly every page. This book is absolutely filled with wisdom and knowledge of God and how He and the world He created works. This book inspired me to find a copy of The City of God, which I am now just beginning. If it is one-tenth as good as the Confessions, it will be well worth the money.

This is a beautiful book even if you aren't familiar with the Saints. It opens like a flower as you read. It is completely about this wonderful man's own thoughtful analysis of his own emotional experiences. He reflects on his early life when he was actually a pagan worshipper, and then focuses on his conversion to the Christian faith. Once he converted Saint Augustine returned to Africa and set up a monastic community. What makes this book so special is that is told with the utmost candor and he holds nothing back. It is also a beautiful book in praise of God and how he changed Saint Augustine's life. Although religious in tenure, this is not a totally religious work. So many observations and thoughts that this man had in his lifetime (354 AD is when he was born). It is a book about friendships (both true and false), faith, celibacy and love.

This book is a Roman Empire era classic, but not for the reader in a hurry. The translation appears to attempt to faithfully follow the original Latin long sentences and has therefore had to deploy advanced literary English to deal with the frequent multiple midsentence clauses. This is one of the reasons I found it slow going from a time perspective, but worth persisting with. One really good addition to the book is the notes section with all the Bible references; this is where having a cleric as the translator is clearly a bonus.

As other reviewers have pointed out, the book is a combination of St Augustine's personal life and his discussion of theology and philosophy. His personal life details include petty theft of fruit from an orchard, sitting around unemployed, youthful indiscretions, living a few years with his girlfriend until they split up, and his personal spiritual realignment from a heretical sect to the Catholic tradition. The Biblical references are mainly letters from the Apostle Paul, the Genesis story of the creation, and the Psalms, and there is nothing much from the Gospels or the Prophets. The philosophy component includes a review of his personal experiences with sense of time and memory which was no doubt drawn from his experience as a professional teacher of rhetoric and philosophy.

What one gains from all this is a great snapshot of what someone of religious conviction in the fading days of the Roman Empire saw and thought, including the experience of just scraping by to make a living. Overall, recommended for the patient reader!