Book Review – Thomas Aquinas in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern

Aquinas in 90 Minutes – May Need A Bit Longer

Thomas Aquinas in 90 Minutes by Paul Strathern

Synopsis:

“Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character….I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one’s friends to Western civilization.”–Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe. “Well-written, clear and informed, they have a breezy wit about them….I find them hard to stop reading.”–Richard Bernstein, New York Times. “Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise.”–Jim Holt, Wall Street Journal. These brief and enlightening explorations of our greatest thinkers bring their ideas to life in entertaining and accessible fashion. Philosophical thought is deciphered and made comprehensive and interesting to almost everyone. Far from being a novelty, each book is a highly refined appraisal of the philosopher and his work, authoritative and clearly presented. (Taken from GoodReads page)

Review

Remembering that this is just a 90-minute piece of work on Thomas Aquinas, I didn’t expect a full coverage of his philosophy or a complete breakdown of his work. However, nothing is mentioned of any of it which seems to miss a big part of why someone should care to write a book, let alone read a book, about someone from the 13th century.

The life of Aquinas is well enough covered although some more background information would have been helpful in flushing out Aquinas’ time in history and then his place in history. Some reviewers have mentioned the negative tone from the author. I did not really pick up anything and maybe the length had a factor in that.

There are other books of a little larger length that would be better a better introduction to the person on Aquinas (check my reviews for some).

Final Grade