Product Description

This series is the only comprehensive narration of Western history written from the orthodox Catholic perspective still in print. How would a historical narrative read if the author began with these first principles: Truth exists; the Incarnation happened? This series is essential reading for those who consider the West worth defending.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67666 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 807 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780931888755
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

A Catholic Perspective on the Reformation
As a student of history, and particularly of the Reformation, I always had a nagging feeling that I was only getting one side of the story. For the Catholic Church to retain so many of the faithful and also to recover millions who had already committed to Reformation theology, there must have been some good, some defense which was not being presented in the history books.

Dr. Carroll fills in a lot of those gaps. The persons I thought were protestant heroes weren't so heroic after all. I was introduced to some Catholics who were heroic. Although Dr. Carroll is much too bright to fall victim to a position where all protestants are painted black and Catholic white, his history is not balanced in its presentation.

However, Carroll is very up front that his history is not intended to be balanced (i.e., written from a neutral perspective). Carroll does not fabricate his data. This book is very accurate. However, what data Carroll chooses to present is heavily weighted towards the Catholic. This is not dishonest or hidden. Carroll states this in the forward.

As for Carroll's book, I think his treatment of the Council of Trent was excellent as well as his treatment of Reformation England. If you don't like reading detail or don't like reading the same book for more than 10 days, this book will slow down for you during Carroll's presentation of the Thirty Years War. The cleaving of christianity was ultimately accomplished by the sword. This means that some portion of this book is a history of battles.

I believe that no student of history should be without this book because it is a well presented assessment of the Reformation from the Catholic perspective. You may not agree with the Catholic perspective but to ignore it is to miss half the history of the period.

If there is one fault I have with this book is that it recycles some of Warren's book "Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Conquest of Darkness" almost to the point to where I feel that the text might have been the same for a couple of paragraphs. This is why the book gets a four.

This fault is brief and fleeting and does not detract from the overally presentation in the book. It is worth the money you will spend to buy it. It is worth the historical perspective you will get from it. Buy this book without delay.

We need to read both sides of "The Reformation"
Warren Carroll presents the "Cleaving of Christendom" in the 16th and 17th centuries from an ardently Catholic position. He makes this quite clear in the introduction and in his style of writing. It is refreshing because, even with ten years of Catholic schooling, I suspect that over the years I have absorbed a highly Protestant view of this period. Now I am reading both Protestant and Catholic histories to help get some balance. For those who want a smaller dose of a Catholic history of the period, Hilaire Belloc's "How the Reformation Happened" or his "The Great Heresies" are excellent. On the Protestant side, I am starting with Alistar McGrath's "Reformation Thought." ---- With sadness, I had to downsize Dr. Carroll's book to four stars because of the poor proofreading. Maybe I shouldn't because he became seriously ill just as he finished this volume and we are blessed to have the volume at all! (PS-- as this is written, he is healing well and is back to teaching and writing.)

Catholic history that reads like a novel
Once you start reading this history you won't be able to put it down. Finally, a scholarly work on the 1500's and 1600's from a Catholic perspective that is readable, understandable and informative. I can't wait to read the rest of Carroll's books!