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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
ISBN? – 9780140285345
Publishing - 2004 by Penguin Books (first published 2003)
General Subject/s? - History / Religion / Monarchy / War
Title? - The Reformation divided the whole of Europe.
General Analysis? - One of the best books I've read on the Reformation. It's clear and concise, and it is easy to find exactly what you're looking for within it. It covers the entirety of Europe, including all of the major reformers like Luther, Zwingli and Calvin. It also looks at the Papacy's role, which many books gloss over.
Recommend? – Yes
Publishing - 2004 by Penguin Books (first published 2003)
General Subject/s? - History / Religion / Monarchy / War
Title? - The Reformation divided the whole of Europe.
General Analysis? - One of the best books I've read on the Reformation. It's clear and concise, and it is easy to find exactly what you're looking for within it. It covers the entirety of Europe, including all of the major reformers like Luther, Zwingli and Calvin. It also looks at the Papacy's role, which many books gloss over.
Recommend? – Yes
Though this might be a touch dry and a trifle long for those who prefer their history books on the light side, it is still an excellent, informative read. MacCulloch does a wonderful job illuminating this transformative period in Western culture, and the relevance of this material to our modern world is striking.
After watching BBC's A History of Christianity, I felt that I had to search for one great work that Diarmaid MacCulloch has. Fortunately, I found this tome of the history of the Reformation and its implications in the Christian faith as a whole. I was a satisfying read for Catholics, I should say, with the obvious bias and focus on what happens outside of the Catholic Church.
Insanely depth history on the reformation. A little hard to read because of the vocabulary, but I'm big dumb
This book was a bit of an odyssey. It's written in a fairly conversational and totally readable style, but it's chock full of details that are hard to keep track of. Because he chose to structure this account chronologically rather than thematically he will reference an idea or a person and then hundreds of pages later return to that thought with the assumption that his reader will remember the original reference which was challenging amid all the other details provided. To be fair, he often puts a helpful page reference in brackets beside these points so one can trace back to the original reference.
I will probably have to reread this in order to remember all the details (perhaps several times), but overall I enjoyed the experience. I highly recommend this for those interested in history.
I will probably have to reread this in order to remember all the details (perhaps several times), but overall I enjoyed the experience. I highly recommend this for those interested in history.
informative
slow-paced
A rigorously fair, well-written account of the Reformation - starting well before Luther and ending well after him. It put me in the minds of the people of the time; taking their ideologies and arguments seriously and avoiding patronizing answers that might overly rely on sociology or psychology.
I'm planning to read his "All Things Made New" next.
I'm planning to read his "All Things Made New" next.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Is it impenetrable? Occasionally, yes. Is it long? Very. Is it the best book I’ve read on the subject, hands down? 100%.
This is not an introductory work, but it is impeccably cited, incredibly thorough, and deeply fascinating. Also manages to not be racist, sexist, or homophobic, which are all accomplishments. It deals extensively with the impact of the Reformation on women and those today who would be queer--and it does so very well
This is not an introductory work, but it is impeccably cited, incredibly thorough, and deeply fascinating. Also manages to not be racist, sexist, or homophobic, which are all accomplishments. It deals extensively with the impact of the Reformation on women and those today who would be queer--and it does so very well
This is another book that has been sitting on my shelf, unread, for some time. Now, I've finally finished reading it and I am glad that I did. Mr. MacCulloch sweeps through the Reformation with an energy and verve that is not found in many similar, one-volume accounts of history. And he is quite adept at switching between the historical, theological, and social aspects of the period that tore Western Europe apart. For those who have taken a course on modern Western history, the basic outline of the Reformation will be familiar to the lay reader. But because he doesn't tie himself down to one particular historical figure or theology or even interpretation of events, but endeavors to explain everything, there will be countless historical nuggets that will surprise many. The lack of corruption, as portrayed by Protestants, in the Catholic church is just one of many. This book also shows the beginning of things that still profoundly impact our world today: the marketplace, and competition, of ideas; proto-public education as begun in catechisms and Sunday schools; missionary and evangelical movements (which explains why there is a revivalist-evangelical "crusade" going on next door to me for the next three weeks) and the ever-present question of how to interpret the Holy Bible and worship God and his Son, Jesus Christ. For those who are interested in the Western world and how it came to be, this is a book not to be missed.