Don't be put off by the size of this book or the size of the subject. The book will give you the "who, what, where, when and why" of the Reformation in smooth, clear and inviting prose. MacCulloch makes fine and fascinating distinctions about a breathtaking amount of material, as he puts in rich full context a battle of ideas that is still being fought today. For all its brilliance, this book is actually great fun. For the mainstream reader it is a treasure. I can not recommend it enough. --- Added 2008. ----- Having now spent over a year and a half reading this book, studying in it, underlining passages and writing in just about every margin, I have to return to my review here and try to do justice to the mammoth accomplishment of this work.---- It is a full multi-course education in one of the most baffling and violent periods in history, during which thousands died for varying religious positions, and we in America are some of the inheritors of the violence and theological speculation and doctrinal decisions of these times. ----- This book gives full rich portraits of Protestants and Catholics alike, striving to bring to us an understanding of how these men and women of religion saw themselves and their relationship to God, and why they were willing to go to such lengths for their beliefs.------ And, as the jacket copy tells us: "MacCullogh examines the impact of the Reformation on ordinary lives." ----- This is of immense value because we are, I think, still in the midst of religious revolution and reformation today. ---- Possibly we always will be.---- As Christians, we are part of a quarreling religion, a religion with great respect for debate and contrary opinion, yet a religion that strives constantly to put an end to all debate with inspired positions. ---- It never seems to come to that. ---- Our debates, within our denominations, and within the great church as a whole, go on. ---This book deals with some of the most vital and most fateful quarrels in which we've ever been involved, and to understand ourselves better, we need to know about them. ------ I recommend this book whole heartedly for a confrontation with our own religious obsessions and attitudes towards a whole range of life's most serious questions, including those pertaining to family life. --- For those presently watching the new spate of films and mini series about Henry VIII and his daughter, Elizabeth I, this book provides a great resource for examination of the misunderstandings, tragedies and accomplishments of the era which do not always make it to film. ---- Obviously people in America in the year 2008 are obsessed with religion, and nothing will help us more with our obsession than valid observations, and insights such as this book provides. Nothing, except prayer, that is, and an educated examination of our own consciences. -------- Let me add on a practical note the book is filled with valuable cross references. When you come to the life of Luther, for example, you'll find specific page references to Luther elsewhere in the text, and these cross references are of terrific help. The cross references help you to organize what you are discovering here and seeking to absorb, which is, of course, an immense mount. ---- For Catholics, this book provides a particularly rich description of what we call the Counter Reformation, and it seems to me that MacCulloch is as insightful and even handed here as he is with Protestant personalities and developments. ----- One final note: sink into this book. Sink into it. You may come out disagreeing with some of MacCullogh's views, but the book is bound to teach you more than you can possibly dream. ---- You will want to read biographies of people of whom you perhaps knew nothing before you started here. You will want the education to go on. ---- Recommended for everyone --- the armchair historian, the scholar, the teacher, the professional historian, the person who just wants to know! --- for us all.

Who Is Ann Rice?


Biography

One of America's most read and celebrated authors, Anne Rice is known for weaving the visible and supernatural worlds together in epic stories that both entertain and challenge readers. Her books are rich tapestries of history, belief, philosophy, religion, and compelling characters that examine and extend our physical world beyond the limits we perceive.



Anne lives and works in California. Anne's life experiences and intellectual inquisitiveness provide her with constant inspiration for her work.



Anne Rice Fact File:


UPDATED MAY 11, 2008



1. Born Howard Allen O’Brien on October 4, 1941, Anne chose the name “Anne” when she entered the first grade at St. Alphonsus Grammar School. She attended Catholic schools until 1958 when her family moved from New Orleans to Richardson, Texas.



2. After graduating from Richardson High School, in 1959, Anne attended Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas and later North Texas State College.



3. After a year’s stay in San Francisco, during which she worked as an insurance claims examiner, Anne returned to Denton, Texas to marry Stan Rice, her childhood sweetheart.



4. Stan and Anne lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area from 1962 to 1988, experiencing the birth of Hippie Revolution first hand as they lived in the soon to be fabled Haight Ashbury. Both attended and graduated from San Francisco State University.



5. Stan Rice became a professor at San Francisco State shortly after receiving his M.A. there. He published many books of poetry, and later, after the couple’s return to New Orleans in 1989, painted over three hundred paintings in the attic of their Garden District home (see below.)



6. In 1972, Stan and Anne lost their daughter, Michele, to adult leukemia just before her fifth birthday.



7. Christopher Rice, born to them in 1978, seemed a gift from God in that both of his parents stopped their heavy drinking when faced with another chance at parenthood.



8. Anne wrote Interview with the Vampire while the couple still lived in Berkeley, California, just before Christopher’s birth, and has written over 28 novels.



9. Christopher Rice, who attended school in San Francisco, and later in New Orleans, has published four novels, all of which were New York Times bestsellers. Christopher attended Brown University for one year, and also attended New York University, before writing the first of his novels, A Density of Souls, which brought him national recognition. Please see the link to Christopher’s website.



10. In New Orleans in 1989, Stan and Anne bought the Garden District Greek Revival house that would become the setting for five or six of Anne’s novels. This house would also house Stan’s attic painting studio. It was here that Christopher wrote his first novel. This home was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream for Anne, who had passed the beautiful house frequently in her early years, going to and from her parish church of St. Alphonsus from her home on St. Charles Avenue. During the 1990’s, Anne owned many buildings in New Orleans, including St. Elizabeth’s Orphanage, her childhood home on St. Charles Avenue, and other restoration projects. The family enjoyed apartments in Florida and New York, and traveled frequently to Europe. Anne and Stan also traveled to Israel. Anne made a second visit in 2005. The 1990’s also saw Anne’s first novel, Interview with the Vampire made into a motion picture, starring Brad Pitt, Kirsten Dunst, and Tom Cruise. Anne’s screenplay was the basis for the adaptation, directed by Neil Jordan. Years later, Anne’s novel, The Feast of All Saints, about the free people of color of Lousiana, would be made into a Showtime mini-series, scripted by John Wilder. Please see the page devoted to the book and the series on this site. A Broadway musical, Lestat, was also developed in 2004 by Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Linda Woolverton and Rob Roth. Though the play closed, there are rumors of a New Orleans revival.



11. Anne returned to the Catholic Church in 1998, and in 2002 consecrated her writing entirely to Christ, vowing to write for Him or about Him. She remains passionately loyal to the readers of her earlier works. Please see the Essay on this site devoted to that subject.



12. Stan Rice died in 2002 within four and a half months of being diagnosed with brain cancer. His many beautiful paintings will soon find a permanent home in a southern museum. Eventually, his collected poems will be published. His extensive diaries are now being edited. They include many observations about his poetry and his painting. Please see the link to the Stan Rice website.



13. In 2005, after completing Christ the Lord, Out of Egypt, Anne left Louisiana and her beloved city of New Orleans to live in California. Within months of her departure, Hurricane Katrina devastated the area.



14. Christ the Lord, the Road to Cana, was published in 2008. A spiritual memoir by Anne entitled Called Out of Darkness will be published in the fall of 2008 as well.



15. Anne now lives and works in the California desert, a few hours drive from her son, Christopher, who lives and works in West Hollywood.