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Butler's Lives of the Saints: The Complete 4 Volume Set (Volume IV) By Alban Butler (Author) Our Price $ 96.76   Retail Value $ 109.95   You Save $ 13.19  (12%)   Item Number 131163   Buy New Item Quantity: 1              2              3 ABOUT TRUST ONLINE

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	Consider another book.  Aug 15, 2006
Butler's Lives of the Saints: New Concise Ed., edited by Paul Burns, ISBN 0-8146-2903-2, Copyright 2003 Consider another book. Despite "Butler's" being in the title, it seems to bear no relation to the Butler's Lives of the Saints published in the 1950s and 1800s. Defects: 1. There is no index or alphabetical list of saints. If you want to look up a saint by name, you have to scan the list of 366 saints in the table of contents, which is six pages long. An index would have provided quick access. 2. Saints are not listed under their actual commemoration day. Why? Because the saints did not "die on conveniently spaced dates" (page xi). Nothing in the description of the saint alerts you to the date being wrong. To determine the correct day, you have to closely read a paragraph at the beginning of the month. 3. The book does not bear an imprimatur from a bishop or "nihil obstat" showing that it's free from error. To illustrate why this is a problem, one-third of the entry for St. Maria Goretti is not about her; it's a critique of her sainthood and of the Church. Example: in "feminist circles ... Maria has been seen more as a martyr to patriarchal society" (p. 310).
	Old heroes to learn about  Jul 16, 2006
It has been nearly fifty years since I read this book. I had forgotten how much detail Butler placed in his research of the lives of the saints. Although my mind has moved more towards agnosticism, it is of great interest for me to read how the Church appreciated the lives of some of its past members. I am now trying to read of the saints related to that day, but alas my schedule is too busy to read the entire selection.
	Butler's Lives of the Saints  Sep 8, 2005
The rating of 3 stars does not reflect THE BOOK - actually, I have another copy of this book and love it. However, I ordered (I THOUGHT) A LARGE PRINT EDITION. Your presentation on line was very confusing. I requested large print offerings, and, found that not everything that came up for perusal was large print. I made the mistake of selecting what I thought WAS large print only to find, upon receipt, that it was not. I was purchasing this book as a gift for my neighbor who desired a book about the lives of the saints in large print because he is legally blind and cannot read the normal type. For that reason I rated my experience as a 3 because I am disappointed. I AM STILL LOOKING FOR A BOOK ABOUT SAINTS IN LARGE PRINT AND WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP YOU CAN GIVE ME. R. Ford
	Scholarly *and* Spiritual  May 13, 2004
I just love this book. I bought McBrien's Lives of the Saints at the same time and this one is far superior in that it is scholarly without losing its spirituality. You get more than just a biographical sketch, you also get a sense of the spirit of each saint, including quotations. The quality of the paper, printing and binding is superior as well---this book will last for generations. I am now saving up for the 12-volume unabridged set!
	This isn't Attwater/Thurston ed., but is just as bad  Nov 26, 2003
I originally wrote a relatively favorable review for this book because it seemed to incorporate the best of the original Butler's Lives (a focus on meditating on the life of the saint) and the new calendar of saints (including many recent canonizations). While it does do the second, I am afraid to say that it is woefully inadequate regarding the first. In fact, it is probably just as bad as the Atwater/Thurston edition. For instance, here is part of the section from January 27th on St. Angela Merici: "Accounts of her [St. Angela Merici's] childhood make her pious, rebelling against the fashions of the age, devoted to the legend of St. Ursula, and the recipient of a vision showing a great company of virgins and other saints coming down from heaven to her. They included a dead sister, who invited her to form a great 'Company of Virgins,' which was what Angela had actually done by the time the account was written." In other words, the author wants to point out that the story "must" not be true because it wasn't written down until after the alleged vision had been fulfilled. Now, we are certainly not bound to believe all the accounts in the various lives of the saints, but I do not understand the point of drawing attention to the alleged falsity of a tale in the context of a meditative reading. If the work seeks to be encyclopedic, it is much too short and you should check on the 12-vol. counterpart, but for a daily meditation (which it seems reasonable to assume such a work is designed to be), such statements are misplaced. If the story is too absurd to be believed, just don't include it. As a result, it is disappointing because it would be useful to have a modern Butler's that can be used for a daily devotional or meditation. Instead, we are left with the old works that do not match the current calendar.

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