For me, as a student in English history of Edwardian epoque, to purchase a book on my subject is a real success. After a marvellous book of Margaret Aston, 'The King's Bedpost' this is the most significant of all the books on this period and subject. Besides it proposes quiet a different point of view of this problem. As A. Pollard said, for the first time a 10 year old boy became the head of the Church, and this paradox, along with his own religious spirit and political intrigues of the time, makes the history of his reign a bit detective and very interesting for study. Nevertheless, the notes of Mrs. Aston became problems in Mr. MacCulloch's book. While Mrs. Aston made an accent on 'creative' and 'destructive' sides of Edwardian Reformation, along with the study of one picture, Mr. MacCulloch is interested in Edwardian's personality. In this case the division of the book is very symptomatic, because it shows not only evolution of the boy, but also the evolution of the King and his image - Josiah and Solomon. The question - if Edward had finally built his Temple - is probably out of place for a professional historian. But when we see such a jealous person in history of religion, besides of a young age, we're always inclined to believe that all that he had done, was not in vain. The growing interest to the figure of Edward VI Tudor in late historiography signifies both this belief and the attitude of the amateurs. As for the latter, this book will be extreamly interesting because of its wide factological material. Along with the facts, some of which are very curious, the reader will find a plenty of illustrations, including not only pictures and miniatures of that epoque, but also some extracts by Edward and some of his contemporains which are good examples of early modern handwriting, to judge by the external view of the document. I would recommend this book for as wide a circle of readers as possible because well arranged and well written historical study is always worth to be read either by professional historians to improve their skill and erudition, or by amateurs to spread their knowledge.

Jean Comby's volume, "How to Read Church History: From the Reformation to the Present Day," is the second in a two-volume work, which in turn is part of a series of "how to read" books. I've used this book as a text book in a course I teach in Christian History, and I chose it for Comby's approach to source material.

Personally, the first time I picked up the book I found it very readable, but wondered how my students would feel about it. When I elicited feedback, I discovered is that those who have a background in Western Civilization and European history do enjoy the book (Comby, after all, is a Frenchman and writes from a European perspective). My Asian students have a harder time with the text -- not for what is written, but for what is not written. In other words, without a background in European and Western history and thought, the work appears more difficult. Comby often speaks in passing of certain Western personages, trends and movements, taking for granted that his readers are familiar with these from other sources.

Having said that, and for those who do have background in Western Christianity and civilization, the volume presents a balanced view of Church history through the developments of the last five centuries. The author writes so as to invite dialogue; his tone is upbeat.

Last week, while in the campus bookstore, I overheard one of my former students recommend the book to a friend of hers. This erased any doubts I had about putting the book on my list for the next time I teach modern and contemporary Church history.

MacCulloch seeks to present Archbishop Cranmer as a radical protestant with little scholarly interest or knowledge of the early church, and also that the "via media" of Anglicanism that resulted from the English Reformation was contrary to Cranmer's radical protestant beliefs and is a "myth." While MacCulloch may have written a biography he failed to examine the source of Cranmer's beliefs and theology. MacCulloch claims that Cranmer's eucharistic theology stems from the Swiss Reformed tradition: one had only to read Basil Hall's essay in "Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar" edited by Ayris and Selwyn to see that this is demonstrably false. Cranmer was heavily influenced by Lutheranism as well as by the "exposition of the most holy and learned fathers and martyrs" of "the holy catholic church of Christ from the beginning" (Cranmer's words) and as such his theology clearly stands in the same line as that of Richard Hooker and Lancelot Andrewes. This sort of "scholarship" with an obvious ax to grind is perhaps the worst sort. If you want to know Cranmer's views on the Sacraments (as most Anglicans or scholars of the Reformation do) please read him in his own words in "A Defense of the True and Catholic Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ" (if you can find a copy in the library) or in "Thomas Cranmer: Churchman and Scholar."

As a descendant of the famous Archbishop, and a lover of biographies, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this tome. Well...as scholarly as the author's perspective, and as meticulous as his research, it was still a rather laborious read. Maybe in this case, less is more. Readers should prepare themselves for the long haul...Hillaire Belloc's biography is a much more enjoyable read.

I am not much of a biography/history reader, but I was forced to read this hefty volume for a research paper on Cranmer (took me all of nine days, reading for several hours a day). This is quality, scholarly research, well-written and keeping a good balance between describing the events of Cranmer's life and career, and analysing his theological development. MacCulloch writes favourably about Cranmer, and his account is bound to inspire sympathy and admiration for someone who was a flawed hero, but a hero nevertheless.

I have very little background in Christian History; I picked this book up in a Cambridge Christian bookshop I accidently wondered into ( not normally frequenting Christian bookshops and not wanting to leave as soon as I came in, I headed for the History section ). I actually quite enjoyed this book - it gave a good persepective of how Christianity has been involved in most of the important Western European historical events and movements. It goes through the early Christian factions, and gives a good basis for the understanding of why Dogma was so important in holding the Church together in the earlier part of its life. Of course it goes through the reformation, but it explains earlier reformations that occured prior to Luther. I'd recommend this book to anyone who want a basic grounding in Christian history.