Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650
Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650
Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650
Audiobook39 hours

Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650

Written by Carlos M.N. Eire

Narrated by David Drummond

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

About this audiobook

This fast-paced survey of Western civilization's transition from the Middle Ages to modernity brings that tumultuous period vividly to life. Carlos Eire, popular professor and gifted writer, chronicles the two-hundred-year era of the Renaissance and Reformation with particular attention to issues that persist as concerns in the present day. Eire connects the Protestant and Catholic Reformations in new and profound ways, and he demonstrates convincingly that this crucial turning point in history not only affected people long gone, but continues to shape our world and define who we are today.

The book focuses on the vast changes that took place in Western civilization between 1450 and 1650, from Gutenberg's printing press and the subsequent revolution in the spread of ideas to the close of the Thirty Years' War. Eire devotes equal attention to the various Protestant traditions and churches as well as to Catholicism, skepticism, and secularism, and he takes into account the expansion of European culture and religion into other lands, particularly the Americas and Asia. He also underscores how changes in religion transformed the Western secular world.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 19, 2018
ISBN9781977372635
Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650

More audiobooks from Carlos M.N. Eire

Related to Reformations

Related audiobooks

Modern History For You

View More

Related articles

Related categories

Reviews for Reformations

Rating: 4.338709758064516 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

31 ratings5 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was so good that I felt compelled to buy a Kindle copy. It contains an almost overwhelming amount of information and themes that require revisiting -- for me at least. Although the issues discussed can be incredibly complex, the author always presented them in an accessible fashion for the general reader, sometimes with nice touches of humour. The audio version was a pure pleasure to listen to. The narrator did a superb job.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Brilliant. Very informative and extensive as an "overview" of the Reformation/s. It presents the different sides of the doctrinal "divide" but reading between the lines, the narrative is Roman Catholic. I was born Roman Catholic as most Filipinos (albeit nominal) and I was contemplating for the priesthood, but I instead became part of the Fundamental Baptist denomination. I could read the Roman Catholicism in the book. Despite that, the book is a very good source to learn about the Reformation/s.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is solid, but with so many options out there, I have high standards for general histories of the reformation(s). Eire's is good, particularly in setting the scene, and on Catholicism during the period. The chapters on the various Reformation churches were weaker, I thought, and the final section was somewhere in between. Eire occasionally flashes a very tedious contrarian streak (i.e., if you dare to explain things, particularly if you try to explain things rather than just assuming that they are exactly how they present themselves, you are damned). But he writes well, and his book is admirably wide-ranging in terms of its foci. On the whole, though, Chadwick's telling is briefer, and MacCulloch's more compelling.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A thorough book covering the history of both the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. However, I thought towards the end, the book delved too deeply into tangential information (like the history of witch hunts in Europe), that could have been covered in another volume or not at all.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Half a millennium after a lone monk began a theological dispute that eventually tore Western Christendom asunder both religiously and politically, does the event known as the Reformation still matter? In his book Reformations: The Early Modern Era, 1450-1650, Carlos M.N. Eire determined to examine the entire period leading up to and through the epoch of the Reformation. An all-encompassing study for beginners and experts looks to answer that question.Eire divided his large tome into four parts: On the Edge, Protestants, Catholics, and Consequences. This division helps gives the book both focusing allowing the reader to see the big picture at the same time. The 50-60 years covered in “On the Edge” has Eire go over the strands of theological, political, and culture thoughts and developments that led to Luther’s 95 theses. “Protestants” goes over the Martin Luther’s life then his theological challenge to the Church and then the various versions of Protestantism as well as the political changes that were the result. “Catholics” focused on the Roman Church’s response to the theological challenges laid down by Protestants and how the answers made at the Council of Trent laid the foundations of the modern Catholicism that lasted until the early 1960s. “Consequences” focused on the clashes between the dual Christian theologies in religious, political, and military spheres and how this clash created a divide that other ideas began to challenge Christianity in European thought.Over the course of almost 760 out of the 920 pages, Eire covers two centuries worth of history in a variety of ways to give the reader a whole picture of this period of history. The final approximately 160 pages are of footnotes, bibliography, and index is for more scholarly readers while not overwhelming beginner readers. This decision along with the division of the text was meant mostly for casual history readers who overcome the prospect of such a huge, heavy book.Reformations: The Early Modern Era, 1450-1650 sees Europe’s culture change from its millennium-long medieval identity drastically over the course of two centuries even as Europe starts to affect the rest of the globe. Carlos N.M. Eire authors a magnificently written book that gives anyone who wonders if the Reformation still matters, a very good answer of if they ask the question then yes it still does. So if you’re interested to know why the Reformation matters, this is the book for you.