Luther

Few people shaped the modern world more thoroughly than Martin Luther. History tends to cast him as an enemy of supreme authority, but that's far from accurate—Luther's fight against the Catholic Church wasn't anti-authoritarian. It was informed by a love of God's Word and the biblical Gospel. His Protestant Reformation wasn't philosophical, but theological.

But who was the man? In Luther: Biography of a Reformer, Frederick Nohl shows both the public and private Luther, his life at home, in the pulpit, and standing before the Diet of Worms. Nohl's narrative reads like a novel, but doesn't focus only on events in Luther's life: he provides the social, theological, political, and cultural background of the great man of God.

This quality hardcover edition features sturdy glossed pages and full-color still shots from the 2003 film Luther starring Joseph Fiennes. A timeline helps readers keep events in context. Nohl's book isn't as good as the classic Here I Stand by Roland Bainton, but it's historically solid, well-written, and theologically grounded. If you've only read the Wikipedia page on Luther, this is an excellent place to start learning about this crucial Church figure.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.