Stephen J. NicholsThe Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World

Stephen J. Nichols is starting to build a reputation for making Christian history acessible and fun to read. This little primer on the Reformation is no exception. It serves as a great refresher for those a bit rusty on the big picture or an introduction to those first interested in the topic which undoubtedly is quite daunting. This would also make a great text for homeschoolers.Nichols gives a brief overview of the key reformers like Luther, Zwingli and Calvin. He surveys the Anabaptist reformers and spends 2 chapters on the Reformation in Great Britan including the exploits of Henry VIII and the Puritans. The book starts with an excellent chapter on why the Reformation is important to study and understand. It was a large scale recovery of the heart of the Christian faith, the gospel itself as expressed in the 5 solas of the Reformation: scripture alone, faith alone, Christ alone, grace alone and to the glory of God alone. The last chapter focuses on important but often forgotten women of the Reformation. Finally the book ends with several apendices that include excerpts from key documents, confessions, catechisms and prayers of the Reformation. The text itself is accompanied by a number of highlighted sections focusing further attention on important issues. There are also quite a number of illustrations, photos and portraits of the reformers that make the book more acessible and enjoyable.What I like about this little primer is that Nichols inserts at key points important lessons to be learned from the Reformation. Standard academic histories often try to treat its topics with a neutral point of view (however impossible that is). Even when a historical work is sympathetic to its topic it usual tries to hide the fact by being subtle about it. Nichols doesn't wear his sympathies on his sleeve, but he does seek to point out the Biblical truths the Reformation teaches us. He also does not hide the weaknesses, failures and even sins of the reformers. Those are lessons too.This is a short book by design and so it will not cover many topics. However, I was dissapointed that nothing was said about William Tyndale, the early English reformer and Bible translator. Some emphasis on the precusors to the Reformation might have been helpful as well - men like John Wycliffe and Jan Hus. Otherwise, I was pleased with the book and heartily recommend it to all.

Stephen J. Nichols has been coming out with a lot of books lately and has been highly recommended by a lot of people that I respect. I decided to take a look at a couple of his books and this one in particular, being that I am always looking for more information on the Reformation.Nichols sets this up for an introduction for the differing reformations that happened all over the globe after the way that was paved by Wycliffe and Hus and then finally with the most powerful Martin Luther.You can actually get a great understanding of where the book will lead you by seeing the different chapter titles.1. Five Hundred Years Old and Still Going Strong: Why the Reformation Matters Today2. A Monk and a Mallet: Martin Luther and the German Reformation3. Some Middle-Aged Men and a Sausage Supper: Ulrich Zwingli and the Swiss Reformation4. The Not-So-Radical Radical Reformers: The Anabaptists and the Reformation5. An Overnight Stay in Geneva: John Calvin and the Swiss Reformation6. A King and a Divorce: The Anglicans and the British Reformation7. Men in Black: The Puritans and the British Reformation8. Women in Black Too: The Untold Story of Women and the ReformationAppendix: In Their Own Words: Selections from Documents of the ReformationSo, as you can see Nichols tries to cover a lot of ground in one little book, as the book, including the appendix is only 150 pages. It is very short in a lot of areas but it has to be so that the reader that is not accustomed to the Reformation can get their pallet wet enough to want to read other works that get more detailed each of these particular reformation periods.The one thing that was stated at the first of the book that I was excited to see more about, that I found lacking, came when Nichols said we need to "humanize" the people of history. Meaning, we need to show who they were and not merely what they did. I felt as though Nichols did a pretty good job in this with Luther, but felt that this dropped off in the future chapters with the others. This, by no means, makes this book a disappointment and would definitely recommend it to others for an introduction to who and what went before us.Nichols does make this history very readable and interesting to read without merely spitting out facts, which is happening in another book I am reading on the same subject. The book flows very well and makes you want to learn more about the reformers, instead of seeing history as a dry and dead subject.I look forward to reading more books by Nichols and would defnitely recommend this to any who need an introduction to the Reformation from Wycliffe to the Puritans.

Great book for learning how the reformation came about, and how it is affecting us today.

Read this book in just a few days. I am fairly new to the Reformed faith and enjoyed this book immensely. The writing style is very engaging and the overall history of the Reformation was informative. I highly recommend this book to both adults and as a read aloud for families seeking to learn together. It is 8 chapters, each hitting a specific person/region in Reformation History. As a woman I also appreciated the last chapter which covered a few of the women and roles they played.

very mine blowing

On the plus side, it was written in easy to follow language without too much 'church jargon' left unexplained.On the down side, because it really only gives a short snippet about each person, there is so much left unexplained about these fascinating people and events. It also means that chapters are a bit choppy at times jumping from one thing to another without a clear flow.

all was great

This is an excellent introduction to the reformation. The book is written in an enjoyable and highly readable style. Dates, facts and figures are weaved into an engaging text.

Nichols' The Reformation: How a Monk and a Mallet Changed the World, is an OK introduction to the Reformation.It's a broad survey in a little book, complete with fact boxes and extracts from the writings of Reformers. It's also a bit muddled, as it jumps from one Reformer to another in the space of a few paragraphs, and then switching to another country in the next chapter (and even bizarrely disappearing into the Puritan era). It never feels like you get long enough with any individual characters to feel the power of the story and history. It's also... dare I say it, too American for a British audience?That said there's a nice chapter at the end on the contribution of women to the Reformation, which is a nice counter to much of the male dominated discourse usually written on the era.If you're after a compelling introduction to the Reformation, this isn't it. It'll stimulate for a few hours but the book you're looking for is Mike Revees' The Unquenchable Flame on the Reformation.