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sonofstdavid's review
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.25
The definitive biography of the martyred archbishop for a reason. Not only does it illuminate with moving personal detail the life and thoughts of Cranmer, it also elucidates the entire era of the reformation's complexity, beauty, and paradox.
However I do recommend with caveat. It probably shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to read it, but the incredibly minute detail included did not help. Scarcely a month of his archbishopric went by without MacCulloch telling us exactly what happened. Which is helpful as a research document, less so as a biography.
Nevertheless, I was incredibly impressed by MacCulloch's approach and tone. It neither was hagiographic nor did it demonize the complicated Bishop. Through the incredible detail we as readers get to know the man almost personally as a sincere pastoral theologian who valued compromise as the sure and steady way to reform the Church.
However I do recommend with caveat. It probably shouldn't have taken me as long as it did to read it, but the incredibly minute detail included did not help. Scarcely a month of his archbishopric went by without MacCulloch telling us exactly what happened. Which is helpful as a research document, less so as a biography.
Nevertheless, I was incredibly impressed by MacCulloch's approach and tone. It neither was hagiographic nor did it demonize the complicated Bishop. Through the incredible detail we as readers get to know the man almost personally as a sincere pastoral theologian who valued compromise as the sure and steady way to reform the Church.
steviec's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably the definitive Cranmer biography. MacCulloch treats his subject with great fairness. His extensive research shows in every chapter. Don't let the size of this volume fool you, it is remarkably readable. I am glad to see such an underappreciated churchman treated without bias.
quodfelix's review
2.0
I was rather looking forward to this biography, having enjoyed MacCulloch's History of Christianity for its wry observations and willingness to tell a good story. But it seemed to me that he assumed too much foreknowledge here, and I got lost in the host of characters and the obscure references became tedious instead. I may have wound up skimming through some of these pages and chose to dwell instead on the parts I understood something more about. I learned some more about Cranmer's wider interests in reform, and I gained a deeper appreciation for the significance of the Book of Common Prayer, not only to the practice of religion, but also to language and the depth of its impact on British identity. For that I am grateful. But it was a chore to get through.
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