Saints Preserve Us!: Everything You Need to Know About Every Saint You'll Ever Need

in answer to those who rate the book with one star and didn't "know or realize" it was humorous. one must always be critical, with eyes open, but never cynical. that's what this book is, along with being good natured. btw, such reviewers takes themselves too seriously. as hagiographies go, this book offsets all "serious" and humourless "instructional" books.

Although not every saint is listed here there are a lot of saints in this book! The blurbs on each saint are short and easy to read. They are interesting and informative. I appreciated the lists in the back fo the book that told me what saint was my birthday saint, my name saint, and other patron saints I might have based on career, nationality etc. A neat little book.

I just love this little book, I find I have checked it out of the library so many times that I am definitely going to buy it. I have always been interested in the lives of saints. Let's face it, they lived so long ago, in times unimaginable to us, and there are so many strange stories attached to their lives. Some stories in here are so bizarre that they're funny, but I guess this is where Faith comes in. This book lists the saintly people from A to Z and is full of odd anecdotes, fascinating old illustrations, and tells you which saints are associated with what (St. Clare - patron saint of television? Who knew?) I think some of the associations should be updated, how many barrel makers and brewers are around nowadays? Very interesting, very humorous, very informative. (This from a cheerfully lapsed Catholic.) Not a Definitive Version of Lives of the Saints, I'm sure, but good reading.

Bought it for a gift, kept it for myself. Funny, insightful, accurate, and a great primer for who the saints were. And don't forget, if you need to pray for something specific, or for your chosen profession, or for your birthday, there are handy lists that correspond the appropriate saint for the appropriate occassion.

A previous reviewer gave this book one star and wrote: "I am disappointed in this book. It is not appropriate for teaching children about the Saints." Well, duh! This isn't *intended* for teaching children about the saints! It's intended to be *humorous*! So if you're expecting a textbook, yeah, you're going to be disappointed, but if you want a funny, irreverent, and yet surprisingly respectful (sometimes!) overview of the wonderful, wacky world of saints - you will *love* this! :-)