Have you ever wanted accessible introductions to key figures and periods of Christian history? Augustine and His World Augustine is one of the giants of the Christian church. From his birth in North Africa and his days as a relatively permissive young man, through his midlife conversion to Christianity and career as bishop of Hippo, his story has intrigued and inspired every generation for over 1,600 years. As a thinker, teacher, writer and debater, Augustine's greatness lay in his ability to relate the philosophies of Ancient Greece and Rome to the precepts of the Christian faith. Augustine also saved the church itself from disintegrating into rival factions by forging sound doctrine in the fires of controversy. This immersive account of Augustine's life helps readers understand the world he came from and the enormous contribution he made to the church, both of his day and of the future. Francis of Assisi and His World Francis of Assisi is one of the world's most popular religious figures, and also one of the most misrepresented. In this lively and engaging account of Francis's story - from his hedonistic youth to his emergence as a Christian leader of great charisma and intensity - Mark Galli attempts to strip away the modern gloss in order to discover the real man and the world in which he lived. The saint revealed here is not the romantic free spirit of popular imagination, but a contentious figure who combined a deep mysticism with radical commitment and, above all, sought to glorify God, the creator.

Julian's Literary Legacy is a study of A Vision Showed to a Devout Woman from the inside out. Julian's writing is systematically studied by Fr Luke Penkett, Librarian and Archivist at the Julian Centre, drawing attention to her linguistic brilliance and clarifying complicated passages with greater comprehension for twenty-first-century readers in mind. The ways in which Julian's literary style and her use of earlier and contemporary material are seen to illuminate each other, offering new and previously under-studied aspects without which little new research along well-worn paths is feasible. The Middle English words - and their use - are given their fullness of meaning, heightened by her use of rhetoric, allowing their potential richness to come to the surface, opening up possibilities for Julian's readers to be increasingly aware of God's goodness and the fact that they are loved for who they are.

Henri Nouwen is internationally acclaimed as one of the most beloved and important spiritual writers of the second half of the twentieth century, yet little has been written on Nouwen's own mentors, especially on those who influenced him the most: Thomas Merton, Vincent Van Gogh, Jean Vanier and Rembrandt Van Rijn. Nouwen encountered Merton in May, 1967. He began to learn about the art and writing of Van Gogh in 1975. He met Vanier in 1981. The painting of the Prodigal Son Nouwen came across in 1983. Touched by God's Spirit brings these four masters of the spiritual life together and their significant contribution, notably, to compassionate Christian living as expressed by Nouwen is studied in depth.