October 2006. Reluctant Saint. The Life of Francis of Assisi, by Donald Spoto. Donald Spoto is the author of biographies of celebrities like Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ingrid Bergman, Laurence Olivier, and Marilyn Monroe (too name just a few). His biography of Francis notes that in a count taken 40 years ago, one biographer of Francis cited over 1500 works in four languages on the life of Francis. Spoto's biography is a readable account (215 pages) of Francis's life that is both informative and spiritual.In addition, Spoto provides the historical background on life and the Church in 13th Century Italy. This book gets my vote for the best book we have read in the bookclub since we started in 2003. I found the book informative and spritually challenging.The quote that sticks in my head (and will for a long time to come) is from page 68: He did not try to understand what the Gospel meant and then attempt ways of carrying out its message. Rather, he dared the experiment of first living that message, and from living it, discovered a new and practical way of understanding it. Here are a couple of links to the book and the author: Reluctant Saint pageHere you'll find an interview with Donald Spoto and information on the movie made from the book Interview with Donald Spoto At the left is a portrait of Francis on a wall in  the Benedictine Monastery in Subiaco, Italy. According to the monk that gave us the tour of the monastery, Francis sat for this portrait while visiting the monastery

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