In this authoritative and engaging new biography, Augustine Thompson, O.P., sifts through the surviving evidence for the life of Francis using modern historical methods. The result is a complex yet sympathetic portrait of the man and the saint.

PART I: The Life: "When I Was in My Sins," 1181-1205 -- The Penitent from Assisi, 1206-1209 -- The Primitive Fraternity, 1209-1215 -- Expansion and Consolidation, 1216-1220 -- Francis Returns Home, 1220-1221 -- Rules and Retirement, 1221-1223 -- The Way of the Cross, 1223-1225 -- From Penitent to Saint, 1225-1226 -- For Further Reading -- PART II: Sources and Debates.