The Protestant Reformation: 1517-1559

By:Lewis W. SpitzReviewed by:D. WangP.5The Protestant Reformation is a book detailing the changes and procedure of the Reformation. It begins by describing the physical, religious, emtional, and political enviroment of the time directly preeceding the Reformation. It then describes Luther's actions and direct consequences. After Luther we have a discourse on Protestantism's progress, and reinvigoration of the Reformation. Spitz goes on to explain the English Reformation and the Catholic response. Finally, we have a decription of Europe and its culture and soceity.One's view of this book relies entirely on one's preference for this genre. Those who favor romantic, fast paced, active, and/or lively books should aviod contact. Those who are willing to suffer anything in the pursuit of knowledge will find it interesting. A sample passage goes as follows: "Like Spain's, the population pattern in Portugal reflected the contrast between the semiarid zones and the burgeoning martine areas." Another sentence describing education is written as "The belief that teaching is a divine vocation, as Luther put it, 'next to the ministry the most useful, greatest and the best,' created an ethos for the teacher in church and public schools which has survived to the present day." Everything is very detailed, but there is no intentional attempt to attract the reader's attention. This may or may not be seen as a good thing.I like this book primarily due to its genre. My prefrence is extended, nonfiction books that are generally not read by my age group. This book meets all of my requirements: length, detail, and style. As with one of the problems of the genre, this book is generally not considered casual reading. I liked this book, but others may consider it to lack stimulus.My favorite section of the book is the beginning. It's interesting to read about the conditions of the time. Others may disagree, but I find it interesting to read about population growth and decline, the instability, and the various disagreements over land and power. Negotiations, anyone? It apperas humans are naturally hostile. It is necessary to know our past and nature, for as historian George Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are comdemned to repeat it."