Reviews of Vauchez' Francis of Assisi have appeared
in The Times Literary Supplement,[1] by Robert Lerner;
in The Catholic Historical Review;[2]
in Commonweal,[3] by Lawrence S. Cunningham;
in Speculum;[4]
and in the Australasian Catholic Record,[5] by Daniel Anlezark.
In The Times Literary Supplement, Robert Lerner stated that Vauchez "writes lucidly and thoughtfully",[1] and that for him, "Francis was neither a rebel nor a forerunner of modernity, but 'one of the great spiritual teachers of the human race'. Fittingly, the book culminates in a long essay on Francis’s spirituality meant to display the various ways in which the saint can be seen as a 'spiritual master like Jesus or Socrates'."[1]
In The Catholic Historical Review, John V. Tolan stated that Vauchez' biography of Francis was "learned and very readable... creating a clear and cogent narrative based on the principal sources," and that the author "manages to present these complex traditions in a way that is both clear to novices and will seem fair to specialists — no small feat."[2]: 342 He also stated that some "specialists... will be disappointed that Vauchez treads the well-worn paths of the “Franciscan question,” focusing on Franciscan hagiography and pontifical sources and paying little attention to much of the rich recent work in other areas of Franciscan history."[2]: 343
The book was also reviewed
in Choice,[6]
Library Journal,[7]
and Booklist.[8]
