What Would You Die For? Perpetua's Passion

I'm sort of biased towards book, because it was translated by students and professors at my place of undergraduate study. Disregarding the Introduction by Professor Joe Walsh, it's an extremely brief work. The actual diary of a female Christian martyr in the second century days before her execution, this provides a great look at religious faith in a microcosm. Perpetua might be insane, but I couldn't help but find it admirable that she was willing to be gored to death by beasts rather than compromise her beliefs. That's some conviction, that is. Oh, and since I wrote a paper on this question, I might as well pass it on for other readers to ponder: why DOES Perpetua turn into a man in her last vision?

This edition of Perpetua's Passion, remarkably, a college student-produced translation, makes the story of Perpetua's short life and martyrdom accessible and even riveting. Walsh's introduction is erudite and yet perfectly pitched to undergraduate readers. Because of the wide range of information provided in introduction and notes, this translation would be suitable for use in classics, theology, ancient history, gender studies, ethics, and literature courses.