St. Augustine's Confessions

An Excellent Overview!

I listened to this alongside an audible edition of Augustine's Confessions in preparation for teaching this text at the undergraduate level. I was a bit worried about the team teaching approach at first, as both Herzman and Cook interject on each lecture, but I found they did a marvelous job of bouncing thoughts off of each other and furthering discussion. I have listened to five or so "Great Courses" on audible and this has been my favorite thus far.

12 of 12 people found this review helpful

Highly Recommended!!

Firstly I need to disagree with one of the other reviewers regarding having two people give the lecture. Of course this is personal preference, but Herzman and Cook make a great "tag team". It breaks up what could be monotony with different voices, comments, to some extent style, and yet it does not - in my opinion - break up the compelling flow of the narrative.

The voices are clear and easily understandable, and most importantly, this is a true lecture, not someone reading a book. It is dynamic, has the odd pauses and corrections (the wrong word is said and it is then corrected), making it "real".

Their insights into Augustine are hugely interesting. I had read the Confessions and had to say I was not understanding what all the fuss was about. However, with the insights provided here, I will go back and re-read. And, it is a great price. I have the monthly subscription with Audible and this lecture was one credit.

Five out of five, ten out of ten.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Perfect for the Self-Motivated Learner for Life

Where does St. Augustine's Confessions rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This stands unique from my other audible purchases in that it serves as a companion to the text(I bought the Oxford classic from amazon). It is a fantastic companion which has enriched a work that is nearly peerless in it's original capacity to enrich.

Who was your favorite character and why?

From Algerian farm to the imperial court of Milan, from nobody to the dominant thinker of the world's dominant religion-a Bishop then fully respected and accepted by the secular philisophical community so 1600 years later. The force of St. Augustine's words has run relentlessly with no end in site. An intellectual Gladiator, only more grand and more important than any arena spectacle.

Which scene was your favorite?

The lecturers pop with energy, seem genuinely inspired by each other, and I could not help but catch their enthusiasm.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The beauty of his writings concerning his time of conversion is not lost on those reading for more secular or generally spiritual reasons. Fantastic, moving.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Outstanding Lectures Bring So Much to Light

What made the experience of listening to St. Augustine's Confessions the most enjoyable?

I was skeptical at first whether having two lecturers would work well. Fortunately Prof. Herzman and Prof. Cook complemented each other perfectly. One could tell there were a few places where their views differed a bit, but they these tensions were used to increase understanding, as opposed to confuse the issue. The lectures were pithy, well organized, and communicated A LOT of information. Relative to other "Great Courses" lectures to which I have listened, I think this series held more information per lecture than most.

What did you like best about this story?

Well, this question is a bit odd when the "story" is a lecture series about a book, but I was very appreciative of the effort the lecturers spent in clearly explaining the social context of Augustine's writing and the significance the material had not only within Augustine's _Confessions_ but in a broader perspective. Their personal examples illustrating how they experience similar events/thoughts/feelings helped me connect to Augustine's writing and made my response to the material that much stronger.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The section dealing with addiction and compulsion was very strong. The lecturers did A TERRIFIC JOB talking about the addictions to alcohol, sex, and violence of Augustine's mother, Augustine himself, and Augustine's friend, and illustrating Augustine's attitude towards explaining such addictions and overcoming them. As a father, I also found the sections discussing Books 1 through 3 really moving. Augustine is right about the need to train children properly, and the lecturers did an excellent job identifying and explaining his ideas.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Augustine the Sinner then Saint

Herzman and Cook together, work so well in teaching about Augustine. Worth reading over again!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

very good course

I thoroughly enjoyed this lecture. The lecturers have an excellent grasp of the subject matter

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fantastic Course!

Professors Herzman and Cook are the dynamic duo of historical Christian teaching and their lecture series are always the best. Their course on St. Francis of Assisi was my absolute favorite of all the Great Courses, but this one what's especially valuable to me since I struggled to understand Saint Augustine's confessions when I try to read it years ago. Educational, interesting, and enlightening in many ways for nerdy, less-indoctrinated seekers like me! (-:

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Superb!

These profs do a superb job in this course, as they also do with Dante's "The Divine Comedy" course. Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Excellent Overview

As a history and philosophy major, I found this course to be very satisfying. It is historically informed and, while the professors are historians, they give great philosophical insights into the narrative of the Confessions. I can also say as one who wrote a lot about Augustine in my college work that this course is well informed and accessible at the same time.

Like coming to the end of the Confessions only to be ready to begin again, I am ready to listen to this course again after finishing it.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Could have been better

These two erudite professors reminded me of "Click and Clack" from NPR radio. They bounced all over the chapters and would leave anyone who had actually read St. Augustine wondering what they were talking about. The beauty of Saint Augustine is his use of Latin and intense spirituality in the way he wrote - which comes across even in translation. Click and Clack hardly read any of the original but spent most of the time passing back and forth between their interpretations of what was happening, often repeating each other. I found this distracting. I would suggest actually reading the Confession first, then maybe using this course to enhance your knowledge.

6 of 9 people found this review helpful