Saint Francis of Assisi: The Life and Times of St. Francis

Although written almost 100 years ago, the book by G. K. Chesterton shows the remarkable life of St. Francis. Chesterton was a big admirer of Francis; the life and preaching of Francis was a factor in his conversion to Roman Catholicism. I am not going to convert, but I am also a huge admirer! Some of Francis' stories may be problematic for the modern reader (the stigmata, for example), but Chesterton approaches these in a thoughtful way. His prose may be a bit old-fashioned, but if you read it carefully, it is full of humor and insight. A wonderful read.

This is a good value for the quality. I had a recent confirmandi that took the name Francis for Confirmation, and I hope that this "biography" will help him to understand the Poor One of Assisi better. I put "biography" in quotes, since this is not a strict objective/historical biography, but rather is Chesterton's attempt (successful I would say) to share the charism of St. Francis.

St. Francis of Assisi is a very strange personage of the Catholic Church, but with a great love for what he was doing. He has been living in poverty and have passion for theatrical performances. He wasn't really a nature lover, but what he had been done was teaching his followers the meaning to love God but through what He create. Illness was his biggest enemy in this world in his last days of live but he had been carrying his cross by trusting in the truly Creator for salvation of his soul and the souls of others. Nice presentation of a saint in his days living on this planet.

This book is a very well written account of a truly great person. Written by a truly great person. Chesterton has depths of insight that is very much needed in our society today. We need more people whose motivation is for the "good of the people" instead of the motivation of "What's in it for me". A person has the choice of serving God or serving self. St. Francis was the very definition of serving God instead of serving self.

A friend of mine who is a devotee of Chesterton suggested reading this biography of St. Francis as a good way to acquaint myself with his writings. She is correct. This small book is packed full of interesting thoughts about the times and circumstances in which St. Francis lived and how he helped shape the late Middle Ages with his, for the time, novel and often shocking approach to Christian living. Chesterton's insights into the person of St. Francis are excellent. I highly recommend this to anyone who wishes to become comfortable with this fine author's writings.

Chesterton gives highlights of St. Francis’s life. It is unimaginable the charisma and passion he possessed to have inspired so many to follow his lead of poverty and joyful gratitude for all of God’s blessings. Not an easy read, but full of good characterizations of the saint’s life and the times he lives in.

This book is written and crafted by a genius. What came in the mail was much more than merely a biography, this is a work of precision cultural criticism and wit which can be both pointed and beautiful at the same time.I love how Chesterton picks out his contemporaries or past thinkers and then tells us why they are wrong for thinking x. There is so much truth in this book-- I could go on and on about how relevant this work is to us in the 21st Century. When talking about Ancient Rome: "Thus the effect of treating sex as only one innocent natural thing was that every other innocent natural thing became soaked and sodden with sex" (21).What makes Chesterton so good, though, is that he is not parading merely his own opinion throughout the book-- he is speaking with the fullness of truth backing him up. The reader will experience what happens when Jn 8:32 is applied to literature: "the truth will set you free" and you will then be free to take down that which is not true-- and do it with style.

Great read!

I found the language vague and the discussion cursory. After 20 pages I started skipping ahead looking for clear descriptions of St. Francis' life. I wanted to know more about St. Francis because the historian Will Durant admired him. Chesterton is no Durant. His discussion is vague and rambling--not that of a true scholar. I thought this might be a philosophical examination of St. Francis' theology, but I didn't find much philosophy. One commentator complained about the difficult language, which I thought meant philosophical jargon. That is not the problem at. The problem is that Chesterton's discussion consists of impenetrable generalizations. I admit I didn't try to hard to figure out what he was saying. There are a lot of books to read and one doesn't like wasting one's time reading books that are not interesting or clearly written. My advice is to do some shopping and find a biography of St. Francis that everyone agrees is enjoyable and informative.

I bought this book and immediately returned it. It appears to have been scanned and never proof read. The first page mangled the author's writing and in parts was unintelligible - it is an utter disgrace that this item is for sale and if Chesterton were alive I have no doubt he would have had a thing or two to say about it!

I was very surprised by Chesterton's approach. This isn't a biography in the accepted sense, but a far deeper interpretation of his life that allows for a better understanding of the incidents that are reported, and that sometimes sound incredible. Can only recommend for someone who wants deeper access to St Francis.

Really good book, telling the story of Francis very delicately.

i wanted to learn about St Francis, however, this book was very rambling and incoherent and never seemed to get to the point.Did nothing to gain my interest -Will buy another biography on St Frances, the Donald. Spoto reviews were very positive.Would advise to download sample of text before purchase of this book!!