Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther

Font size and text spacing on p. very pleasing. Author's writing style flows, and is easy to read.

This, the Abington Press book is the edition of this book you should buy. The book is generally accepted as the definitive biography of Martin Luther, the one you should read first. And I don't mean that it is better written than the other offerings of this book by Bainton. IT IS BETTER PRINTED! I borrowed a copy of Bainton's classic book from my local library. After only a few pages I realized that it was a book I wanted to buy and also that I couldn't read my library's copy of the book. The text and the illustrations were not sharp. My old eyes were hurting and couldn't keep reading. Was it bad "plates", poor printing or low grade paper? Doesn't matter. The type looks fuzzy and is hard to read. Bainton deserves better and so do we, his readers. Luckily another comment mentioned this so I ordered this edition. It cost no more than the blurry not-Abington edition.

I have a fascination with Martin Luther and have been studying his works (and their impact) quite a bit over the last few years. This is not the newest biography of Luther, but it is one which has been a standard for several decades and it does a solid job giving a good overview of the man and much of his life. One of the greatest benefits of a biography of such a prolific and influential writer is how it can help situate their works within the context which birthed them, and Bainton does a decent job of that with some of Luther's most influential works. This book definitely had a more religious reader in mind, and it does delve decently into Luther's theology. While Bainton does an excellent job highlighting major themes and even quoting Luther throughout the book, he does not provide adequate citation (at least for scholarly purposes, as several times I wanted to look up quotes or excerpts in their broader context). But for the purposes of introducing one to an overview of Luther's life, helping situate his works within the context of that life, and assisting in grasping the overarching man that Luther was, it does a solid job. The reading was not always easy, though there were sections which I found myself reading more quickly through than others...there were times I struggled not to doze off as I read. A solid biography and does a good job with its subject, albeit a bit of a slog at times.

This is hands down the most detailed and ganging Luther biography out there. The author has done a great work here in historical accuracy as well as reader engagement. This is a hard book to set down. He does a great job of examining the context around the reformation and gives great background and insight to many important figures! 100% recommend.

The book was outstanding. Exactly what I wanted in a biography of Luther. It was indeed a biography, but it also went into his theology and why he had raised such a ruckus. Very well written. I can see why so many others have enjoyed it. The publisher gets one star though... By the time I was done all of the writing on the outside cover had been worn off. Very disappointing.

This book was recommended to me by a Lutheran pastor who I befriended when we were deployed together. I'm not Lutheran, but I wanted to learn more about Martin Luther and figured my friend would point me in the right direction. He didn't steer me wrong; this is an outstanding book and one I highly recommend for anybody, like me, who is not already Lutheran and wants to learn more about the man, about the reform he intended to advocate for the Roman Catholic Church and about the Reformation he ultimately ignited. For this sake, I'll assume that anybody who is already Lutheran has already thoroughly studied the material covered in this book; if not, buy it, study it, cherish it!

I consider myself a Lutheran (LCMS). If you consider yourself a Lutheran, I recommend this book. If you are interested in religion, and you can handle something harder than Teachings of Don Juan, I recommend this book. If you are looking for a biography, I am not sure whether to recommend this book. It explains why Lutherans do some of the things that they do, and why they don't do some of the things that they don't. I don't want to spoil anything, but I didn't expect Martin Luther to have a sense of humor. Many surprises in this book. I would like to tell one or two, but again, no spoilers. The doctrine-and-dogma section that takes up a few chapters after the middle of the book is hard to read (not as hard as Krishnamurti), but the action picks back up after that. The author's vocabulary was frequently above my head, and I am long-educated. Notice I did not say well-educated. The book suggests other works to read. Apparently many of Luther's sermons are accessible. Considering that the author died in his 90's, a third of a century ago, this book holds up well. My pastors tell me that this is the popular Luther biography and an easy read compared to others. What others, I don't know. I accidentally bought the book on paper. It was 400 pages, not including the extensive bibliography. It has 22 chapters, with many black-and-white illustrations. 400 divided by 22 is 18, and by golly, the chapters are all close to 18 pages. I have a copy of the 95 Theses printed on both sides of an 8.5x11 sheet of paper. I used it as a bookmark. Good idea!

Well written and very informative. This is one of the very few books that I couldn’t put down. I found this book so interesting that I couldn’t wait for the work day to end so I could go home and read some more of it which I do believe was due not only to how well it was written but to how incredibly interesting his life was. It would almost certainly have to have been interesting since he was the one who practically launched the Reformation. I’ve watched a couple of programs about Martin Luther and this book answered questions that those programs left me with. I’ve been a Christian for 30+ years and this is the first time that I’ve read a biography of ML and I now realize that I was much poorer for not doing so. My previous knowledge about ML was rather superficial and only now do I realize that there was so much more that was significant as to what he has done and how he affected his time and afterwards. Well worth the five star rating!

Sehr genau Darstellung des Lebens Luthers und der historischen Ereignisse um die Anfänge der protestantischen Bewegung. Auch sehr informative und verständliche Einführung in die Theologie Luthers.

This biography depicts the charmed life that Martin Luther lived. He was the exception who broke with Rome and lived to tell the tale. And what a tale. And what a legacy. And that he eventually married and was father to some seven children. This publication is a must for anyone interested in the origins and spread of Protestantism. Highly recommended.

Mi sembra un po' ridicolo dare una recensione su un libro di uno studioso così importante e noto come Bainton. Questa vita di Lutero è molto ben scritta e interessante. A mio giudizio fornisce una visione storica sufficientemente imparziale da non risultare stomachevole in nessun senso. Lo consiglio a chiunque sia interessato alla storia della chiesa protestante in generale e luterana in particolare.

Il testo più interessante e completo sulla vita di Martin Lutero. In alcuni punti si dilunga un pò troppo su questioni di "lana caprina", ma vale la pena leggerlo se si è interessati al personaggio e alla Riforma.

Great book very readable and informative