Product Description

Available for the first time in trade paperback, this authoritative biography of the great religious leader was hailed by Time magazine as "the most readable Luther biography in English." This edition showcases the intricate woodcuts and engravings that enhance the text and give the flavor of the era in which Martin Luther lived. More than 100 woodcuts and engravings.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67746 in Books
• Published on: 1995-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

About the Author
A specialist in Reformation history, Roland H. Bainton was for forty-two years Titus Street Professor of ecclesiastical history at Yale, and he continued his writing well into his twenty years of retirement. Bainton wore his scholarship lightly and had a lively, readable style. His most popular book was Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther (1950)--which sold more than a million copies. Martin Luther (1483-1546) was a German monk, priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer, whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines and culture of the Lutheran and Protestant traditions.

Customer Reviews

excellent
I used this book as one of my references when I taught a Lutheran Sunday School class of high school aged students. It examines the humanity of this very important historical figure and adds a great deal of perspective to a complex time. It's a enjoyable and very readable book and is in my personal library.

In Depth Study
I am preparing for a trip to Germany where I will visit many of the sites central to Luther's life and work. This book is an in-depth study of Luther's beliefs- not an easy read but a very good source of information.

Standard English-Language Biography for Non-Scholarly Use
This is the standard English-language biography of Martin Luther, dating from 1950 but still being reprinted by various publishers. Written by the late Prof. Bainton of Yale, it is aimed at the more sophisticated general reader rather than the scholar. The bibliography in the Abingdon Press edition has not been updated since 1978 and is heavily weighted toward German-language books and articles. There are lengthy, translated quotations (set in very small type in the paperback edition), but they are not sourced. There are probably a dozen theological terms that may require a present-day lay reader to resort to a theological dictionary.

A unique strength of this book is the wide assortment of a hundred woodcuts from the Reformation period, but they are quite small and difficult to decipher in the paperback edition. It also ties in the economics and politics of the period to the Reformation.

The book's longevity may be attributed to its particular suitability for the lay reader, in that it is readable and largely self-contained.