A treasure trove of information that has been used and read by many many people since its first publication in 1978. This fifth edition is updated yet again, to make it a primary source to help preachers, scholars and ordinary lay people learn about the well known saints and also those more recently canonized. I cannot do better than quote the words of the publisher - ....more than 1,700 fascinating and informative entries covering the lives, cults, and artistic associations of saints from around the world, from the famous to the obscure, the rich to the poor, and the academic to the uneducated.... If like me you are happy browsing through a book like this, discovering much of interest, you will be disappointed at the small typeface, but as a manageably sized reference book it is just right.