Thomas Aquinas

May 15, 2013

Creating a biography of the 13th-century Dominican theologian Thomas Aquinas is a difficult undertaking since relatively little personal information remains on the influential thinker. In response, Turner (historical theology, Yale; Julian of Norwich, Theologian) eschews a traditional biographical approach and attempts to develop a "portrait" or "caricature" of the saint's mind by analyzing his thoughts on various theological and philosophical topics including the soul, God, Christ, friendship, and grace. As the author makes an effort to tease out Thomas's personality from his writings, he observes that it is a mistake to try separately to understand his thought, spirituality, and sanctity; rather, these are all intrinsically intertwined. VERDICT Turner targets a nonspecialist audience; in this he is only partially successful. The complex theological arguments will be difficult to follow for those with no background in theology. Additionally, presenting those arguments necessarily requires digressions to explain opposing points, which tend to distract from the portrait of Saint Thomas. Finally, the lack of chronological framework makes the whole book less valuable for understanding Thomas's life. Ultimately, this work is best suited for those interested in medieval philosophy and thought or the history of philosophy.--Fred Poling, Long Beach City Coll. Lib., CA

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