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Rating: 
Summary: A Most Thoroughly Detailed Account of Aquinas' Life
Review: Torrell has provided the philosophical community with a most thoroughly detailed account of one of the greatest thinkers to ever walk this planet. From the youth of Aquinas to his death, Torrell takes his reader on a historical journey through the life, events, thoughts, and works of St. Thomas Aquinas. Torrell uses the best resources available, and painstakingly documents all his sources. What is more, if certain things have been attributed to legend or mere 'story telling for the sake of story telling,' Torrell makes his reader aware of this fact. Thus, his research is honest, and quite detailed. Every dispute between Aquinas and the Church or other clergy is included. Aquinas' years in Paris are detailed, the things he taught, the people he associated with, his travels, his writings, his habits (which have been documented), his writing methods, etc. all are detailed in this account. In fact, I do not think there is one stone left unturned that can actually be turned in the life of Aquinas, that Torrell has not touched. Toward the end of this work, which it should be pointed out is written and organized in a nice chronological fashion, Torrell makes mention of those groups who after Aquinas' death formed cults in their following of Aquinas. Moreover, I enjoyed Torrell's account of Aquinas because it was real. What I mean by that is Torrell did not elevate Aquinas to an 'other than human' level and put him high on a pedestal. Rather, Torrell painted a picture of the real Aquinas, warts and all. If you are wanting a detailed account of Aquinas and his whole life, works, events, etc. then this is the only text you may ever need (although there are others available which would be very helpful as well - i.e. James Weisheipl's account "Friar Thomas D'Aquino, which has been considered the standard biography). I highly recommend Torrell's work and wished I could have given it another star!
Rating: 
Summary: Superb technical achievment
Review: Torrell's book is a two-fold masterpiece, but it is not for the faint-of-intellect. Die-hard Thomists will find the historical exegesis of scholarship on Aquinas' life and work to be the most fundamentally rigorous to date. Interspersed within this technical exposition are invaluable insights into the person of Aquinas as a man of faith first and foremost. For me, this book was a joy to read and I am utilizing it in a graduate seminar I will be teaching on Aquinas. That being said, I must warn the non-Thomist reader that they may find this book dry at times in its extreme historical exposition. The best approach to this book for the average reader is to skim through to find the gems contained within. Hence, I highly recommend this book to fans of Thomas Aquinas and cannot wait for the translation of Torrell's second volume to appear.
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