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by: G.K. Chesterton
List Price: $12.95Amazon.com's Price: $10.36 You Save: $2.59 (20%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 230.2092
EAN: 9780385090025
ISBN: 0385090021
Label: Image
Manufacturer: Image
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 192
Publication Date: February 15, 1974
Publisher: Image
Release Date: January 15, 1974
Sales Rank: 22263
Studio: Image
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
It is known that when the great Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton began his book on Saint Thomas Aquinas (who is, quite possibly, the most influential of all Christian theologians), 'his research for the project consisted of a very casual perusal of a few books on his subject.' To say that Chesterton was no authority is an understatement. To say further that he has written a masterpiece of elucidation may also be an understatement. Etienne Gilson, the chief scholar of Aquinas in the 20th century, said flatly 'I consider it as being without possible comparison the best book ever written on St. Thomas. Nothing short of genius can account for such an achievement.... Chesterton was one of the deepest thinkers who ever existed; he was deep because he was right; and he could not help being right; but he could not either help being modest and charitable, so he left it to those who could understand him to know that he was right, and deep.'
So how has he accomplished this feat? By simplifying, as his editor says, without oversimplifying. He turns his own lack of intimate knowledge to his advantage by concentrating on the core elements of Aquinas' thinking: his affirmation of the goodness of creation; his defense of common sense; and 'the primacy of the doctrine of being.' In this way he grasps--and helps us grasp--the importance of Aquinas for us today. As Raymond Dennehy has written, it's as if Chesterton is saying to us 'the truths [Aquinas] was getting at--the basic principles of reality and reason--are in themselves really quite simple. Your basic intuitions were right all along.' --Doug Thorpe
Product Description:
A trade paperback edition of the classic portrait of Thomas Aquinas, one of the greatest of Christian philosophers, by one of the greatest of modern religious writers.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Brilliant writer on a magnificant and historical man
I learned to appreaciate Thomas Aquinas in a completely new way from this book. Chesterton's intellect must have been comparable to that of Aquinas. It is somewhat difficult to read because the author's vocabulary and style are somewhat unfamiliar, being from a different time and place. This, however, is the most readable of the books I have read by Chesterton. I finished it with a tremendous respect for the intellect and the spirituality of Aquinas.
Rating: - Aquinas
G.K. Chesterton notes Saint Thomas Aquinas' philosophy to be one of "a central common sense that is nourished by the five senses" (p. 13). His "argument for Revelation is not an argument against Reason; but it is an argument for Revelation. The conclusion he draws from it is that men must receive the highest moral truths in a miraculous manner; or most men would not receive them at all" (p. 19).
St. Thomas' philosophy is deeply needed in today's world with its distorted thinking. ... Read More
Rating:  - Disappointing
G. K. Chesterton is one of my favorite authors; "Orthodoxy" and "The Everlasting Man" are among the most thought-provoking books that I have ever read. Nevertheless, this biography of St. Thomas Aquinas was disappointing. Chesterton is, as usual, not lacking in wit, but his wit often overshadows the content. It is clear that Chesterton thinks very highly of Aquinas, but I often felt that much of his characterization was fanciful. His description of Aquinas didn't seem to contradict many of the facts ... Read More
Rating: - No empty boast
GKC delivers what he promises: a sketch that may motivate readers to pick up deeper books on the subject. If you knew nothing about Thomas, chances are, you don't know awfully much more after this book, but you get an idea which way it may go.
I love Chesterton's writing, except where I disagree with him: I can't buy his basic Catholicism (he warns against that in the introduction!), his acceptance of the concept of the 'saint' and of miracles. That just does not match with his approach of 'common ... Read More
Rating: - A Thinking Man's View of a Thinking Man
As is evident from other reviews, Chesterton is not everyone's cup of tea. He lived in a day when erudition was registered in extended prose that often lent itself to convolution. To a thinking man, nuance is everything and Chesterton is so intent upon the development of nuance that he may seem opaque to modern readers who do not have the background that he assumes in the reader.
Chesterton is very clear in his introduction. He assumes the reader is acquainted with the major players in his ... Read More
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