Francis of Assisi by Augustine Thompson, O.P.

This was written in a fairly dry way, I thought, but I still found it interesting.  It dispels many of the myths about St.Francis, who is sometimes regarded almost as a 'hippie saint' because of the film, Brother Sun, Sister Moon, or regarded as perfect.

Thompson tells the story of Francis's rebellion against his father, his struggle with leadership, his friendship with St. Claire, and his love for animals.  I especially liked the anecdotes about St. Francis's idea of the model of the nativity for Christmas, and his concern that the animals should also be fed at celebrations.  I also liked reading about St. Claire, and I hope that Thompson writes a book about her too.

The bibliography will be extremely useful, because I find St. Francis fascinating, and I certainly want to read more about him!