Product Description

This volume is the epic story of St Paul, one of the the most provocative, outspoken, enigmatic and influential men in history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #271800 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-18
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 445 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Saul of Tarsus, the impassioned rabbi and persecutor of Christians, had an experience on the road to Damascus which changed his life and helped shape the future of the world. As Paul, writer of some of the meatiest chunks of the New Testament and zealous missionary to the Gentiles, he became one of the most controversial figures in history.

Yet what do we know about the man, other than the letters which have fashioned the Christian church for 2,000 years? Unless you are a theologian or historian, the answer is probably very little--until now. Walter Wangerin, the highly acclaimed scholar and writer, has breathed new life into this fiery, enigmatic and passionate creature in what should be celebrated as a seriously good work of literature.

The novel--which combines expert knowledge and prophetic imagination-charts the first exhilarating and dangerous years of the church after the death of Christ. It is seen through the eyes of the witnesses--Priscilla, who meets Paul in Corinth; Barnabus, Timothy and Titus, his companions; James and Simon Peter, the "pillar" of the first Christians; and Seneca, the great Roman writer, statesman and adviser to Nero.

Wangerin serves up a feast of colour and detail that brings the first century--and, even more impressively, the Bible--alive. Whatever your religious persuasion, this book is an unmissable companion to one of the greatest yet most puzzling stories ever told. --Brian Draper

Customer Reviews

A gripping novel about the great apostle, Paul.
This is the story of the early Church, from the eyes of some of the people Paul was closest to (Barnabas, James, Timothy, Priscilla etc.) and others. It describes the way people of that time, especially the early Christians, lived. This novel is beautifully written, and really takes you into Roman world, with all it's political and religious frictions, but does so in a thoroughly gripping way. The only reason I have not given it 5 stars is that the person telling the story changes every few chapters, and I found that I had to keep looking back to see who was telling the story I was reading at this point.

A passionate and scholarly evocation of a great holy man.
St. Paul is not a saint who immediately endears himself to women but the more his work is studied the more interesting he becomes as a person. I bought the book to see how the writer had managed to conjure up a three-dimensional man from the available material. Walter Wangerin has succeeded brilliantly, interweaving the stories from The Acts and the content of the Epistles with the historical background of the period. Paul leaps from the pages as a passionate, infuriating but loveable advocate of Christianity and as I progressed through the pages my heart sank when I realised I was more than half-way through the book. Having reached the end all I want to do now is to go back to the New Testament and re-read Paul's writings and the Acts of the Apostles.

I have no problem in rating this book a 5 star buy.

Sarah Bell