Heretics and Heroes: How Renaissance Artists and Reformation Priests Created Our World
(Libby/OverDrive eAudiobook)

This is the sixth offering in the author's "Hinges of History" series, which began with How the Irish Saved Civilization (1995) and through which Cahill has undertaken to tell the cultural and intellectual history of the West in language accessible to literate nonscholars. Here, he explores the Renaissance of the 15th century and the religious conflicts of the 16th. The story is a lively pageant of big ideas and notable individuals--both good and bad--that shaped the West. The author celebrates Western values and takes a stand for reason and humaneness and against hypocrisy and cruelty. In view of the vast scope and ambition of Cahill's undertaking, one can forgive the occasional mistakes of fact that mar his narrative. For instance, he states that Bologna was the first modern university in Europe--it was Salerno--and he makes the astounding statement that, apart from Rembrandt, "there are not among [the Dutch] many famous painters and sculptors"! Nevertheless, this delightful book, enhanced with 32 pages of color plates and numerous black-and-white illustrations, is a noble undertaking that attempts to bring the sweeping history of the West to general readers. Summing Up: Recommended. For municipal libraries and general readers; not for scholarly collections. D. C. Kierdorf Bentley University

From Sailing the Wine Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter (2003) to his recent book on the flowering of the High Middle Ages, Cahill has proven that he can bring even the most obscure epochs back to life. In this sixth of seven projected volumes in his Hinges of History series, Cahill arrives at his most turbulent era yet: the Reformation and Renaissance. Replete with a larger-than-life cast of explorers, innovators, imperialists, and reformers, the era seems built for Cahill's masterful storytelling. Although it is rigorously researched, the book abounds in the serendipities that make for the best fiction: Columbus discovers the New World by accident and Gutenberg modifies a winepress to print books. Even the tragic fall of Constantinople and the horrors of the bubonic plague yield unexpected opportunities. The text is delightfully sprinkled with clever notes and asides as well as dozens of illustrative images and poems. Heretics and Heroes is proof that truth is stranger than fiction and that it can be just as entertaining.--Beasley, Brett Copyright 2010 Booklist

Between the late 15th century and the early 17th century, Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door, Henry VIII declared himself England's supreme ruler, and Michelangelo created several masterpieces that still attract millions of tourists to Italy each year. Cahill (How the Irish Saved Civilization) cheerfully explains the enduring value of the Renaissance and Reformation movements to 21st century Western principles, injecting humor and a conversational style into well-written and easily accessible chapters centering on controversial issues and mesmerizing personalities. The illuminating discussion covers key figures such as the inventive da Vinci and the good-natured Erasmus-while showing no affection for covetous and gluttonous Henry VIII-as well as the high cost of the spread of religious dissent across Europe. Well-chosen illustrations and discreetly placed asides clarify his arguments without overwhelming or speaking down to readers. In this remarkable fourth installment of his Hinges of History series, Cahill writes passionately about the era's transformational art, the unexpected benefits of the Black Plague, and the intellectual struggles over secular and papal power, resulting in an entertaining yet thought-provoking examination of Western civilization. Agent: Lynn Nesbit, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Cahill (Mysteries of the Middle Ages) here claims that the Renaissance and the Reformation allowed for the development of the concept of the individual person. The Black Plague led to the tragic depopulation of -Europe, which in turn created opportunities for survivors' economic and social advancement, as Cahill shows, using Columbus as an example. A renewed interest in ancient Latin and Greek literature and visual arts contributed to the rise of rich and powerful cities such as Florence, Rome, and Paris. The selling of indulgences for the construction of the Vatican fueled the flames of the Reformation. Gutenberg's printing press spread the ideas of Martin Luther, a development that, along with translations of the Bible into native tongues, allowed literate people to interpret scripture for themselves. The Catholic Counter-Reformation devolved into drawn-out wars between Protestants and Catholics. Throughout this book, the work of writers such as Petrarch, Erasmus, Shakespeare, and Cervantes and artists such as Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bernini, and Rembrandt receive deep examination. VERDICT Listeners with an interest in history and the arts will enjoy this rich and detailed audiobook. ["American scholar Cahill takes on the Renaissance and Reformation-and mangles them as badly as he did the Middle Ages," read the considerably less impressed review of the Nan A. Talese: Doubleday hc, LJ 11/1/13.]-Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Cahill (A Saint on Death Row: The Story of Dominique Green, 2009, etc.) sets his delightfully analytic mind to the major transformations prompted by the Renaissance and Reformation. This sixth book of the author's wonderful Hinges of History series shows how events and a change in philosophical views can uproot and reconfigure entire civilizations. Cahill begins with a little-known insurrection of the Sicilians against the French in the 13th century. They annihilated the French and their fleet and thwarted an invasion of Constantinople, which halted an East/West reunification under a single pope, giving rise to nation-states and, ultimately, Protestantism. The coming of the black plague decimated the peasant population, investing them with the economic power to demand an end to the rich/poor gap and giving birth to the middle class. Cahill illustrates societal changes as reflected in the writings of Dante, Boccaccio and Erasmus, "the Jon Stewart of his day." Artists from Botticelli to da Vinci to Caravaggio bestowed their gifts upon us as iconic religious imagery was replaced by truer visions of flesh, warmth and perspective. Luther's first vernacular printing of the Bible not only gave everyone the chance to learn to read and think, but actually helped developed written language. The author makes it seem so simple to connect the dots, as the 14th through 16th centuries witnessed changes to every facet and walk of life--from the expulsion of the Moors in Spain to the emergence of nations and massive religious upheaval. The breadth of Cahill's knowledge and his jocular style of writing make for a remarkable book.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.