For Greater Things: The Story of Saint Stanislaus Kostka

Kane, William T. (William Terence), 1880-1946Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.0
Word count
122K words
Chapters
13

Tags

English Originals Religion Historical ReappraisalSaint BiographyFirm BeliefInspirationComing of AgeSpiritual PracticeMoral DilemmaSixteenth CenturyReligious DevotionPoland

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.For Greater Things: The Story of Saint Stanislaus Kostka by William T. KaneAuthor: Kane, William T. (William Terence), 1880-1946,Language: English, Class: BX: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: Churches, Church movements, Release Date: Feb 1, 2001

Editor's review

This book is William T. Kane's biography of Saint Stanislaus Kostka, written for young readers and a public-domain work on a religious figure. Its value lies not in scholarly investigation but in its narrative presentation of a young saint's faith journey and choices; the style is plain and aimed at general readers, making it suitable as an introduction to the Catholic saint tradition and to faith education for young people. Organized around the theme "for greater things," it emphasizes ideals, perseverance, and dedication, and readers may note how the author uses the figure's story to convey moral lessons. Because it was written long ago, the narrative carries a pronounced religious tone of its era; readers should approach it as a historical document, appreciating its narrative power while recognizing its didactic intent. Suitable for personal devotion, church reading groups, or general reading on religious culture.

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Reading tips

  1. Begin with the table of contents and introduction to grasp the main narrative line before moving into the chapters.
  2. Read alongside background material on saint biographies to reduce the distance created by the period context.
  3. Read slowly chapter by chapter, noting after each one a detail that struck you.
  4. If used for group reading, set discussion questions around ideals and choices.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13

FAQ

Is this book suitable for non-Catholic readers? Yes. It tells the life story of a saint, and non-religious readers can also read it as a work on religious culture to understand the ideal-personality narrative in the Catholic tradition. Just note that the author adopts a clearly didactic tone; keep a historical-document perspective while reading.
Is this an academic biography or a popular work? Judging from the material, it is a popular English biography for general readers, focused on narrative and moral inspiration rather than rigorous scholarship. If you need academic research, you should find monographs with annotations and historical sources to read alongside it.
What period limitations should I watch for while reading? The book was written long ago, and both its language and religious tone bear the marks of its time; the narrative may state didactic conclusions directly. Readers should distinguish historical narrative from the author's evaluation, appreciating the story's power while retaining independent judgment.

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About the author

Kane, William T. (William Terence), 1880-1946 Author · 1880–1946

William T. Kane (1880–1946), whose full name was William Terence Kane, is an author about whom little is publicly known, including details of his life and nationality. Only one work of his is recorded in bibliographic sources: For Greater Things: The Story of Saint Stanislaus Kostka. The book concerns the life of Saint Stanislaus Kostka and belongs to the genre of religious biography or saintly narrative, likely intended for readers interested in Catholic spirituality and the lives of the saints. Judging from this known work, Kane's writing focuses on narrating a figure's faith journey and spiritual qualities in plain, readable prose. Given the scarcity of material, his full output and historical influence cannot yet be adequately assessed, but this work offers readers a sense of his narrative approach.