The German Hercules in Battle and in Exile
James Reston. Luther's Fortress: Martin Luther and his Reformation under Siege. New York: Basic Books, 2015. 272 pp. $27.50, cloth, ISBN 978-0-465-06393-2. Reviewed by Jay Goodale Published on H-German (September, 2016) Commissioned by Nathan N. Orgill James Reston Jr. is a prolific, best-selling, and, his time there. The period between Luther's birth based solely upon this work, highly skilled writer (1483) and the Diet of Worms (1521) is covered in who has published seventeen books on subjects as just over twenty-two pages of fairly large print. diverse as General Sherman's march, the dis‐ Important themes and relevant events in both Eu‐ graced baseball legend Pete Rose, Galileo, Richard ropean history and Luther's personal and intellec‐ the Lionheart and the Third Crusade, the Rev‐ tual life, including Leo X's pontificate, the election erend Jim Jones (of Jonestown infamy), the Frost/ of Charles V, the relationship between this pope Nixon interviews, and the assassination of Presi‐ and emperor, the Knights' Revolt, Luther's experi‐ dent Kennedy. He is a senior scholar at the ence as a monk in Erfurt, the Leipzig Disputation, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Schol‐ Luther's relationship with Johann von Staupitz, ars, a self-administered institution established as Luther's theological breakthroughs, and the con‐ part of the Smithsonian and based in Washington troversy over indulgences are mentioned and dis‐ DC. In a short but inspirational seven-page, post- patched fairly quickly. Despite the book's stated epilogue "Author's Note," he informs us that his narrow focus, I would have appreciated a little desire to write a book on Luther emerged as he more attention to these aspects of the broader encountered him while researching and writing context, as they are absolutely fundamental to a his acclaimed work Defenders of the Faith: Chris‐ fuller understanding of both how Luther came to tianity and Islam Battle for the Soul of Europe, arrive at the Imperial Diet at Worms, and why he 1520-1536 (2009).
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