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4 out of 5
by
J.
from
Mattoon, IL | Jul 5, 2009
I picked this up because I knew almost nothing about the Reformation, and I felt like I should at least have the basic history straight for events which were so vital to the shaping of the modern world.
And, it mostly covered me for that. He did an excellent job of putting you inside the very alien worldviews and socio-cultural arrangements of the time, and illustrating just how revolutionary and sudden a change the Reformation really was. He gave engaging and detailed sketches of most of the main actors involved in the religious, political, and cultural arenas. He covered enough of the intricate theological problems which developed and were fought out, but not so much as to make my eyes glaze over. And he did an excellent job of taking you down to the level of everyday people and looking at how and why they embraced such a sudden change in such a vital part of their existence, and what the consequences were for their way of life going forward.
Where he fell down just a bit was in connecting the ground-level with the elite, and the religious with the political and especially the military. He did a good job on the elites insofar as they related to religion, but the political history was pretty thin. He also certainly covered all of the major conflicts of the time, but they always seemed like something that happened in the background and only flashed into full view at a few crisis points. I came in with a vague idea of how and why the French Wars of Religion, the English Civil War, and the 30 Years’ War were fought, and left with a not much clearer one.
Of course, any one of those conflicts can and has merited many an extensive history of its own, but I think he could have done a better job of fully describing them and linking them more thoroughly and organically with the political, social, cultural and religious turmoil that caused and sustained them. The 30 Years’ War especially seemed to be elided over. Constraints of space were probably a big concern, as the book still came in at over 700 pages, but I would have rather read another 100 or so and been left with a more complete picture.
Still, pretty minor quibbles for a book that taught me lot about a subject I came in with little background on, and that had plenty of major strengths to outweigh that one notable weakness. Definitely read if you want a solid social, cultural, religious, and basic political history of the Reformation from a modern point of view. If you’re more interested in the military history or in any of the specific conflicts, pick up a more specialized history of the case in question.
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4 out of 5
by
David
from
The United States | Jun 22, 2009
An excellent overview of the cataclysmic splintering of Western Christianity, The Reformation is long (700 pp) and intricate in detail, but the narrative never drags. Diarmid MacCulloch is thorough and almost always balanced in his view of both the Protestant and Catholic sides of the struggle.
The only time his biases seem to show are when he discusses the English Reformation. He seems to have very little patience for the more conservative and, to be honest, catholic side of the Church of England, treating the Elizabethan settlement as an anomaly and Richard Hooker's Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity as idiosyncratic, and he calls Caroline Divines either "avant garde conformists" (what does that mean?) or "Arminians" (what their Calvinist Puritan opponents called them, even though they had no direct connection to Jacob Arminus). At one point, MacCulloch makes an intriguing connection between William Laud's efforts against the Puritans and the Catholic Counter Reformation, but he never pursues this idea beyond a few sentences. Deep down, I sense an evangelical sympathy that can't quite let go of the myth of a truly "Reformed" Church of England.
That is my one and only complaint, though. MacCulloch does an excellent job discussing the Continental Reformation. He covers both the major and at least some of the minor figures on both sides and shows how the events of this period have forever shaped the world for both better and worse.
The Reformation is great tragedy, a lost opportunity, and the foundation of the modern world. It is the stuff of epics, and MacCulloch tells the tale magnificently.
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4 out of 5
by
Ron
from
Winnetka, IL | Jan 6, 2010
There is so much information in this volume that it could easily have slipped into a sort of almanac. But thats not what happens, not at all. Its basic structure is chronological, with some of the usual overlapping of time and events as is required to tell a story this complex, and is infused with many cross references to other parts of the book which I found very useful. Its written with a very appealing combination of straightforward historical narrative and insightful opinion, and sprinkled with charm and occassional cheekiness. There is much space given to nuanced theological arguments between and among western christians, but never at the expense of the broader story unfolding across Europe and ultimately the Americas. The end result is a satisfying and thought provoking read.
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4 out of 5
by
David
from
Reading, PA | May 6, 2009
If you want a one-stop history of the Reformation, this book is the place to go. Rather than tackling each area separately (German Reformation, Swiss Reformation, Catholic Reformation, etc.), MacCulloch provides us with a story that weaves all of these various plots together. In doing this some depth is sacrificed, so if you want to learn more about a particular figure or event you have to look elsewhere. But if you want to see the whole story, complete with background leading up to the Reformation and results of it, this book is great. My only complaint is that the Anabaptists seem to get short shrift, Menno Simons only gets one paragraph!
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4 out of 5
by
Rich
from
Waban, MA | Jun 19, 2008
This is a comprehensive, single-volume history of the Reformation. It is more encyclopediactic and complete than other histories of the Reformation.
MacCulloch had to sacrifice some details for coverage of the whole Reformation. He cannot fully describe every important work by every figure involved and some figures make multiple reappearances and the effect is jarring. For example, John Jewel is only mentioned once. For this reason, the book is more captivating if one has some background knowledge of the people and places involved. The end of the book is interesting because he allows himself space to explore the ideas which came about or were changed during the Reformation, opposed to the time line and general feelings people had towards each others' ideas during the Reformation. By the time you reach the end, you will not be lost by any ideas he presents. The illustrations and maps are great. You will have a very broad knowledge of the Reformation, temporally and geographically after reading this. The end of the book will also prompt you to research the religious ideas he presents further.