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Martin Luther (Routledge Historical Biographies)
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Routledge (2004-05-27)
ISBN: 0415261686
EAN: 9780415261685
Dewy Decimal #: 284.1092
Paperback: 240 pages
Edition: 1
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Customer Reviews
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Concise and accessible
Rating  (4)
Date: 2007-05-01
Mullet's biography works well as an introduction to the chronological development of Luther's theological views. It is less successful in conveying a sense of the man and his times, perhaps inevitably in a work of its length. Wider historical perspective is available elsewhere, for example in MacCulloch's, excellent 'Reformation, Europe's House Divided' (2003).
While Mullet acknowledges the repugnant nature of many of the opinions held by Luther, especially those published late in his life, he is broadly sympathetic. His view of Luther is essentially as a reforming Catholic and socially conservative townsman. Comparatively little time is spent dealing with the other strands of protestantism and their more radical agendas, creating a risk of an unbalanced appreciation of the extent of Luther's unintended achievements.
The book is thankfully free of theological jargon. Stylistically the writing is straightforward and easy to understand, if sometimes clumsy - increasingly chapters start by introducing their intentions ("In this chapter we ..."). The Introduction, which can be sampled from the Amazon webpage, is the most elegantly written part of the book.
The book is part of a series which the publishers intend (according to the blurb on the back of the book) to be "concise and accessible". Mullett succeeds on both counts.
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A superb introduction
Rating  (5)
Date: 2004-11-06
19 out of 20 customers found this reveiw helpful
With so many studies of Martin Luther on the market, you might be tempted to ask if there is a real need for another. However, not all those available biographies of Luther are as clearly-written and cogently argued as this one. This new study by Michael Mullett, following on from his magisterial study of the Catholic Reformation, is a clear and concise account of Luther's career and his theology which any University or Sixth Form student should find indispensable.Adopting a mainly chronological framework, Mullett's prose is fluent and his ability to boil down complex theological ideas to their fundamentals makes this an ideal companion as much for the general reader as the historian. This is a compelling story of a man who stood tall against the monolithic Catholic Church, and who defied a young powerful Holy Roman Emperor in Charles V, dying in old age in 1546. By this stage the Church was irrevocably split in two, the Protestant religion had been founded (though that had never been Luther's intention) and it too had already split into several denominations, many of which are still with us today. Luther had alienated the Humanists, other reformers, the Catholic Church, and held controversial views on the Jews, but nevertheless he is still looked on with reverence and mystique. Mullett's simplicity and commonsense does much to penetrate the 'myth' of Luther. For anyone interested in religious history, or even the general reader who wants to find out about one of the towering figures of European history, Mullett's book is a good starting-point. Warmly recommended, and at a reasonable price too !
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Retail Price: £12.99
Amazon.com's Price:£10.10
That's 22% Off!
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