The Confessions

Augustine's Confessions is arguably the first, and unequivocally the most influential, religious autobiography in the Christian tradition. Augustine (who was a hard-core hedonist before his sudden conversion) writes about faith with the reckless abandon of a lover; his descriptions of friendship are so beautiful they'll bring tears to your eyes; and his tributes to his mother, Monica, cast eternally fresh light on the unofficial authority of women in the early Church. --Michael Joseph Gross