Skip to content

What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant Paperback - 2007

by Garry Wills

A brilliant synthesis of the Apostle Pauls thought and influence is written by a "foremost Catholic intellectual" ("Chicago Tribune").


Summary

“If you think you knew Paul, get ready to have all sorts of cherished preconceptions exhilaratingly stripped away. If you've ever been vaguely curious, there is no finer introduction.” (Los Angeles Times)
 
In his New York Times bestsellers What Jesus Meant and What the Gospels Meant, Garry Wills offers fresh and incisive readings of Jesus' teachings and the four gospels. Here Wills turns to Paul the Apostle, whose writings have provoked controversy throughout Christian history. Upending many common assumptions, Wills argues eloquently that Paul’s teachings are not opposed to Jesus' message. Rather, the best way to know Jesus is to discover Paul. In this stimulating and masterly analysis, Wills illuminates how Paul, writing on the road and in the heat of the moment, and often in the midst of controversy, galvanized a movement and offers us the best reflection of those early times.
 

 

From the publisher

"If you think you knew Paul, get ready to have all sorts of cherished preconceptions exhilaratingly stripped away. If you've ever been vaguely curious, there is no finer introduction." (Los Angeles Times) Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What The Qur'an Meant, coming fall 2017.

In his New York Times bestsellers What Jesus Meant and What the Gospels Meant, Garry Wills offers fresh and incisive readings of Jesus' teachings and the four gospels. Here Wills turns to Paul the Apostle, whose writings have provoked controversy throughout Christian history. Upending many common assumptions, Wills argues eloquently that Paul's teachings are not opposed to Jesus'message. Rather, the best way to know Jesus is to discover Paul. In this stimulating and masterly analysis, Wills illuminates how Paul, writing on the road and in the heat of the moment, and often in the midst of controversy, galvanized a movement and offers us the best reflection of those early times.

Details

  • Title What Paul Meant
  • Author Garry Wills
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 208
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Books, New York
  • Date September 25, 2007
  • Features Bibliography
  • ISBN 9780143112631 / 0143112635
  • Weight 0.38 lbs (0.17 kg)
  • Dimensions 6.96 x 5.58 x 0.56 in (17.68 x 14.17 x 1.42 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Themes
    • Religious Orientation: Catholic
    • Religious Orientation: Christian
    • Theometrics: Catholic
  • Library of Congress subjects Theology, Paul
  • Dewey Decimal Code 227.06

Media reviews

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
Praise for What Paul Meant:
  
“With characteristic clarity and insight, Garry Wills has given us a vital study of the earliest voice in the New Testament.”
Jon Meacham, author of American Gospel
 
“The best description of how the Jesus movement emerged.”
—Andrew M. Greeley, author of The Catholic Revolution

“A tour de force revision of what we thought we knew about the apostle who helped give the Christian faith its distinctive shape.”
Slate.com
 
“With this bracing book . . . [Wills] further cements his reputation as one of the most intellectually interesting and doctrinally heterodox Christians writing today.”
The New York Times Book Review
 
“Wills writes more gracefully and economically than scholarly authors in this gem of a book.”
The Boston Globe
 
“A fascinating read, worth examining by anyone with an open mind and an interest in Christianity and its most prolific early voice.”
BookPage
 
“Lucid . . . Wills is not a biblical scholar, but he is a voracious reader and an eloquent writer who makes judicious use of the best recent scholarship.”
The Washington Post

“Everybody should be as lucky as St. Paul. Not only did he have a transformative spiritual experience and become a founder of one of the world’s greatest religions, but two thousand years later he has Garry Wills to explain, interpret and defend him. . . . One could hardly wish for a more capable advocate than Wills.”
Chicago Tribune
 
“A bracing book of spiritual commentary [by] one of this country’s leading public intellectuals and American Catholicism’s most formidable lay scholar.”
Los Angeles Times
 

Citations

  • New York Review of Books, 10/23/2008, Page 69
  • New York Times Book Review, 11/25/2007, Page 32

About the author

Garry Wills is a historian and the author of the New York Times bestsellers What Jesus Meant, Papal Sin, Why I Am a Catholic, and Why Priests?, among others. A frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and other publications, Wills is a Pulitzer Prize winner and a professor emeritus at Northwestern University. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.
Back to Top

More Copies for Sale

What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
  • Acceptable
Condition
Used - Acceptable
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$4.06
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books. Acceptable. Acceptable. Ship within 24hrs. Satisfaction 100% guaranteed. APO/FPO addresses supported
Item Price
$4.06
FREE shipping to USA
What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
Condition
Used - Very Good
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Frederick, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$4.29
$3.99 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books. Used - Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain a few markings such as an owner’s name, short gifter’s inscription or light stamp.
Item Price
$4.29
$3.99 shipping to USA
What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Frederick, Maryland, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$4.29
$3.99 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books. Used - Good. Good condition. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
Item Price
$4.29
$3.99 shipping to USA
What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Houston, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$5.15
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books, 2007-09-25. Paperback. Good. 7x5x0.
Item Price
$5.15
FREE shipping to USA
What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
Condition
UsedGood
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Interlochen, Michigan, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.15
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
UsedGood. The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
Item Price
$6.15
FREE shipping to USA
What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.48
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books, 2007. Paperback. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.48
FREE shipping to USA
What Paul Meant

What Paul Meant

by Garry Wills

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
3
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.48
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group, 2007. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.48
FREE shipping to USA
What Paul Meant

What Paul Meant

by Garry Wills

  • Used
  • very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
2
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.48
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group, 2007. Paperback. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.48
FREE shipping to USA
What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.66
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
$6.66
FREE shipping to USA
What Paul Meant
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

What Paul Meant

by Wills, Garry

  • Used
  • Paperback
Condition
Used: Good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780143112631 / 0143112635
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$7.27
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Books, 2007-09-25. Paperback. Used: Good.
Item Price
$7.27
FREE shipping to USA