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Rating: 
Summary: Scholarly *and* Spiritual
Review: I just love this book. I bought McBrien's Lives of the Saints at the same time and this one is far superior in that it is scholarly without losing its spirituality. You get more than just a biographical sketch, you also get a sense of the spirit of each saint, including quotations. The quality of the paper, printing and binding is superior as well---this book will last for generations. I am now saving up for the 12-volume unabridged set!
Rating: 
Summary: This isn't Attwater/Thurston ed., but is just as bad
Review: I originally wrote a relatively favorable review for this book because it seemed to incorporate the best of the original Butler's Lives (a focus on meditating on the life of the saint) and the new calendar of saints (including many recent canonizations). While it does do the second, I am afraid to say that it is woefully inadequate regarding the first. In fact, it is probably just as bad as the Atwater/Thurston edition. For instance, here is part of the section from January 27th on St. Angela Merici: "Accounts of her [St. Angela Merici's] childhood make her pious, rebelling against the fashions of the age, devoted to the legend of St. Ursula, and the recipient of a vision showing a great company of virgins and other saints coming down from heaven to her. They included a dead sister, who invited her to form a great 'Company of Virgins,' which was what Angela had actually done by the time the account was written." In other words, the author wants to point out that the story "must" not be true because it wasn't written down until after the alleged vision had been fulfilled. Now, we are certainly not bound to believe all the accounts in the various lives of the saints, but I do not understand the point of drawing attention to the alleged falsity of a tale in the context of a meditative reading. If the work seeks to be encyclopedic, it is much too short and you should check on the 12-vol. counterpart, but for a daily meditation (which it seems reasonable to assume such a work is designed to be), such statements are misplaced. If the story is too absurd to be believed, just don't include it. As a result, it is disappointing because it would be useful to have a modern Butler's that can be used for a daily devotional or meditation. Instead, we are left with the old works that do not match the current calendar.
Rating: 
Summary: CD rom available.
Review: I understand there is a CD rom available which contains four volumes. Has anyone used this?
Rating:
Summary: CD rom available.
Review: I understand there is a CD rom available which contains four volumes. Has anyone used this?
Rating:
Summary: Would have been better had it been pubished by Larry Flynt
Review: I wish I hadn't wasted seven years of my life reading this absurd book. Initially, it even prompted me to join the Trappist Order which resulted in serious psychological damage that I am STILL working through. I'll say this though; there should definitely be a screenplay because while the book does not effectively translate from the page I can see how Kurt Russel could bring to life so many of these saints to the big screen. I'd pay to see that flick, wouldn't you? Anyway, dont' read this book unless you have some sort of serious complex involving a deep desire for some self-flaggelation.
Rating:
Summary: Original version is better.
Review: Little of Alban Butler's work survives in this revised edition--if the reader wants to have access to Butler's own words, with all his wonderful moral judgments, this is not the edition to consult. That said, Thurston and Attwater have done an exhaustive job of updating Butler's original work, including the addition of bibliographical references (mostly referring to foreign-language works) and attempting to sort through the historical inaccuracies that necessarily plague any study of the saints. As they admit, however, this is not meant to be a scholarly reference work.This collection includes more saints than any other that I have seen, and so it is a very useful and interesting work in itself. While Butler's wonderful 18th-century prose, so unfamiliar and even harsh to our modern ears, has been taken out in this revision, the result is not always easy to read. Some of the language is clumsy and poorly-constructed, but one gets used to it and it is not a major fault. In addition, the binding is not of the highest quality. The biggest failing of this edition--which is not the fault of the revisers, of course--is that many of the feast days of particular saints have been changed since the Second Vatican Council. An updated edition that takes this into account would be welcome, but all in all this is a useful collection.
Rating: 
Summary: A good resource on the saints
Review: This book is well-written and provides interesting short biographies of some of the most famous saints. The book is arranged in a chronological manner, ordering the saints by their feast days. This book is not a particularly in-depth looks at the saints, however for those with an interest in the important figures in the Catholic church, and the history of the church, this book provides many interesting tidbits.
Rating:
Summary: A good resource on the saints
Review: This book is well-written and provides interesting short biographies of some of the most famous saints. The book is arranged in a chronological manner, ordering the saints by their feast days. This book is not a particularly in-depth looks at the saints, however for those with an interest in the important figures in the Catholic church, and the history of the church, this book provides many interesting tidbits.
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