Saint Augustine lived between 354 and 430AD--some of the most turbulent times for the Roman Empire. Augustine's life matched this turbulence for despite his early rejection of Christianity he eventually became a bishop and one of the most influential theologians and thinkers in church history. In the Confessions, Augustine tells his own story of his path from a Hedonistic and profligate lifestyle to the acceptance of Christianity and is one of the most profound, personal and honest autobiographies of all time. Indeed it is the model for the autobiographical record of the journey to self-knowledge.
"There is no ordinary limit to the extraordinary range of his mind. Augustine is a fitting study for a lifetime, even for those who do not share the Christian faith which sustained his ceaseless writing and thinking." - Robin Lane Fox.

Saint Augustine of Hippo (13 November 354 - 28 August 430 AD) was a Roman African, Manichaean, early Christian theologian, doctor of the Church, and Neoplatonic philosopher from Numidia. His writings influenced the development of the Western Church and Western philosophy, and indirectly all of Western Christianity. He was the bishop of Hippo Regius in North Africa and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church for his writings in the Patristic Period.
Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works. He authored more than one hundred separate titles, including apologetic works against the heresies of the Arians, Donatists, Manichaeans, and Pelagians; texts on Christian doctrine; critical examinations of the bible; and many sermons and letters. Augustine is best known for his Confessions, a personal account of his earlier life, and De civitate Dei (The City of God), which he wrote to restore the confidence of his fellow Christians after the sack of Rome.