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Rating:  - Important Doctrine
This is one of the more important doctrines in the history of Christianity. Much of the structure of the Catholic church is based on the ideas of St. Augustine. However, one need not be a Catholic to believe or be influenced by his writings as they as universal to all Christians.
The first sections of the book draw into question the abandonment of the worship of pagan gods for the one true God as the reason for the fall of the Rome. Some of the more eloquent arguments against this idea follow. If Christianity is to blame for the fall of Rome, what caused all of the previous wars? Why would the gods not prevent these wars?
The remainder of the book is a somewhat condensed history of Christianity as told in the Bible. Some of this is dry reading as even St. Augustine is willing to admit that he carries on too long occasionally. If one has difficulty reading philosophers such as Plato, the author argues against them to support his argument. So reading these sections may be problematic to some. The discussion of the last judgment is among those that caught my attention, stating that the separation it caused from God is like dying a second death.
Some of the discussion in the book one may find disagreeable. For example, St. Augustine states that intercourse should be limited to procreative purposes. Believing there to be shame in the act, he can see no other purpose.
As another reviewer stated, this is a heavy read for which one may need some background in the customs and life of the Romans. Familiarlity with some of St. Augustine's other works was also an asset to me in reading this book. It is an enlightening journey in faith.
Rating: - An Illuminating Classic
First of all, I am writing this review for the 1958 abridged edition by Image Books (City of God), but I know that this review will be posted on the product pages for the other editions, most of which are unabridged. So, I want to make one quick comment that is specific to the abridged version: I think this was a great copy to read. The editor cut out some of the digressions, which made the book about 300 pages shorter than the normal length (over 800 pages). I was reading this for a research project, so I was thankful for an edition that got rid of some of the less central points so that I could quickly get through the work and still get exposed to Augustine's main points.
That being said, whether you read the abridged or the unabridged version, this book is an absolute classic. Most people don't know this about Augustine, but he lived in Northern Africa (today's Tunisia) while that area was part of the Roman Empire. He started writing "City of God" shortly after the city of Rome had be sacked by the Goths in 410 A.D., and this book is a response to the claims being made by the pagan population of the time that Rome had been sacked because as the official religion of the Empire had been Christianity people had stopped worshiping the pagan gods. Thus, they claimed, the pagan gods allowed Rome to be sacked; they withdrew their blessing from Rome, as it were.
Of course, Augustine thinks this notion is ridiculous and he spent the next 14 years of his life writing "City of God" to refute the pagan view. This work is a great exposition of classical Christianity. The influence of the book was (and is) beyond measure; it remained an important work in terms of influence at least until the end of the Middle Ages. One of the things I really liked about the book is that the translation was really good; you really get an insight into Augustine's character. Furthermore, since Augustine wrote about previous philosophers (Plato, Varro, etc.), you get a great idea of how this work fits into that context.
A thick read, a read that makes you think, but a very enjoyable one nonetheless. I would recommend this book to anyone curious for some exposure to classical Christianity at its best.
Rating: - Augustine Created "The West"
Augustine's name is not tossed around as much as that of Plato or Caesar or many other famous men and women of antiquity, but there is no doubt that he is one of the most important thinkers in all of Western history, and he in fact created the theory of "The West" that has over time become our identity.
Augustine, classically educated, a religious experimenter, Rome's top university professor and greatest scholar, and the premier thinker of the contemporary church, reacted to the fall of Rome by creating a whole new approach to what it is citizens are to look to for their citizenship and community. He postulates a new world order centred on the Christian revelation, but including all that is good from Roman and Greek civilization.
Since Rome fell, the kind of fantasy world of Roman myth and lore kept in the popular imagination by Virgil's Aeneid and related art and literature could no longer hold water. It was time for a stronger focal point for patriotism and self-definition. That would be a Christian one, including Rome and Greece, to be sure, but the major element would be Christ. The Bible would gently nudge aside Virgil, and perhaps Augustine, aware of his own extraordinary literary prowess, saw his own monumental works edging aside the other great Latin writers such as Cicero and Sallust.
This would all be quite some bit of bombastic or farsighted folly were it not to prove true. Augustine's work was indeed adopted as the 'mind' of Christendom, his City of God being read to emperors and kings, and leading the thoughts of the leaders of Christian Europe for over a thousand years.
His 'grand unifying theory' of Western civilization, uniting the organization of Rome with the thought of Greece and the revelation of the Bible, has been accepted as the de facto definition of what it means to be Western until only the very last few decades of our time.
Augustine, apparently aware of his talents, must have been aware that his epic work outshone anything written before, and is itself a testament to the civilization that he advocates: a fully coherent combination of Greek philosophy, Roman civilization and Biblical wisdom. This seamless blend of literary prowess from Rome's greatest scholar and highest ranking professor generates for the reader a powerful education in philosophy, history and theology, tied together with awesome rhetoric, that is uniquely powerful, erudite, insightful and useful all at once.
From a historical and literary perspective, this may have been the very most important book ever written by reputedly human hands.
As it is written for the leaders of society and not for the average citizen, be ready to be intrigued, challenged to thought, and impressed with every line.
By no means must the reader have any kind of religious belief to benefit from this book, nor must the reader agree with all that Augustine postulates, nor can the reader, due to the great distance of time seperating him from us and improvements in scientific knowledge since his time. The importance, greatness and power of the writing itself commend it to us.
Rating:  - City of God
This is a great little copy of the city of God. It is penguin and that somehow matters to me. But the City of God is pretty intense. Historically is is really interesting. They thought differently back then you know. Not real relevant to this generation. But there are pieces of little truth that can be pulled from it that are timeless and life changing.
Rating: - Great
The item was shipped on schedule, and I recieved it within a few days.
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