A Shorter Summa: The Essential Philosophical Passages of Saint Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica

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Summary: a great "summa of the summa of the summa"
Review: I had the pleasure of taking a class in Medieval Philosophy with Peter Kreeft. We used this text in our survey of St. Thomas Aquinas alongside G.K. Chesterton's "Dumb Ox"--which I also recommend as a secondary source. This is a wonderful introduction into the thought of one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the world. Aquinas's "Summa Theologica" is an overview of Christian philosophy and theology, according to Aquinas. It is, however, over 5,000 pages long--a bit much for the common reader. In "A Shorter Summa" Kreeft has selected and annotated the most vital sections of the Summa, making Thomas's philosophy both accurate and accessible. If you are looking for a little more to chew on, I'd advise Kreeft's other abridgment entitled "Summa of the Summa"--hence, my title. "A Shorter Summa" is a gem, packed with more knowledge than most books five times its size. I not only recommend it; I plead that you give it a whirl.

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Summary: Aquinian redux of expert scholarship
Review: One need not be a Christian, nor even a Roman Catholic, to know of the centrality of Saint Thomas Aquinas to medeival philosophy. In his monumental work, the "Summa Theologia" (and, to a lesser extent, the supplementary tract "Summa Contra Gentiles"), Aquinas kept Aristotelian 'pagan' philosophy alive by applying its principles to the Church. Unfortunately, readers today (save for the most devout, I suppose) hardly have the time to read the whole thing. This is where Boston College's Peter Kreeft helps out. Further concentrating his previous Aquinian abridgment, the "Summa of the Summa," Professor Kreeft gives us the most accessible reduction of Aquinas's philosophy with "A Shorter Summa." Well-edited, well-translated, and well-organized, this small book is a fantastic summary of the monumental philosophy written centuries ago by the official Doctor of the Church.

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Summary: A Welcome Tutorial on Aquinas
Review: Peter Kreeft of Boston College has performed a work of mercy for those of us who were cheated in college by being kept in blithe ignorance of the greatest Christian philosopher. Ironically, I was cheated at a Catholic university of exposure to Aquinas! But Peter Kreeft has provided selections of Aquinas with generous footnotes explaining and enlightening various passages and even including diagrams for those of us trying to catch up. I can comfort myself with the thought that a well annotated book by Kreeft, who is also a skilled Catholic apologist, is assuredly better than what I probably would have received anyway as an undergraduate in a decidedly confused Catholic university.