Dave

Exceptional Balance; Riveting Details

Revisado: 02-05-25

The mark of a great historian is one who immerses the listener into the reality of the time and lets one see that reality through the eyes of those who lived in it. Dr. Gregory does that here. He plunges you into the life and times of the period and lets you see and hear what people then saw and heard.

Whether you are Catholic or Protestant, you will appreciate his meticulous concern for fairness in presenting the reasons why the figures and followers involved believed what they did and acted as they did. And you will also understand, and appreciate more, what you and I see -- and believe -- today in our own modern times.

Dr. Gregory is a masterful lecturer, a gifted and engaging speaker, who takes you from 30,000 feet and then drops you into the middle of the forest, and then back up again, so you always see where he has been, where he is going, and why he is going that way. One of the best series of lectures I have ever heard.

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Get the Book; Ignore The Criticisms

Revisado: 11-30-19

I almost didn't get this book, after reading some of the critics who decried that the author spent too much time addressing art, culture, and literature. I ended up loving the book precisely because the author took such care to detail the currents in these areas. You can't understand a nation without understanding its culture and the author brings you to that understanding precisely because he focuses so well, when he needs to, on art, culture, and literature. At the same time, you will get vivid and arresting details of those who were at the center of politics and religion to see how and why Spain was what it was. I was particularly impressed by the author's even-handed, and knowledgeable, treatment of Roman Catholicism and its spirituality, and of the Spanish Inquisition, which too often is captive to myth and caricature. A good history will make you crave to read more, to plunge into a nation's art and culture, and to visit the nation and allow it to permeate you. The book did this for me and I will be picking up Don Quixote again shortly for starters.

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The Other Side of Professor Garland

Revisado: 09-19-19

There's always something tantalizing about wanting to know details of ancient and medieval life, and Professor Garland satisfies that interest in many respects.  But when you get past the details about daily life and existence, you can't help but cross into the world of ideas and about why people did what they did.  

And when you cross into that why you are no more authoritative than any other historian, philosopher, or theologian, who may well counter much of what you say with credible authoritative explanation, as many can, and would do, here.  
Thus, I had such mixed feelings in listening to Professor Garland here.  He is rich in detail and engaging on so many levels.  Yet, because of his material, he cannot help but cross over into the world of ideas and persist in describing facts and events through the lens of modern eyes and without giving deference to the wisdom of the ages, which is not nearly so stupid as you might think. When you are constantly treated to factoids about ancient life that are designed to titillate the modern ear with its notions of right and wrong, you will be left to think that all of the Western World (save for a few enlightened individuals) was a pathetic, ridiculous, miserable, malevolent world that we have been grateful to escape.  

Yes, there are (at least) two sides to history.  And, yes, it's worth pondering the lives of those who lived, as Professor Garland rightly refers to, "on the other side of history" -- the poor, the marginalized, and common folk.  But he strays from his subject when he cherry-picks factoids about Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, and -- that institution most hated by moderns -- the Roman Catholic Church, when he reaches for reasons to explain why people did what they did.  There are "other sides" to their stories, too, and, unfortunately, you won't hear them from Professor Garland here. In which case, you will be treated to a very good lecture on the life and times of people throughout history and a very bad lecture on the ideas of Western Civilization.

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Too Selective On Church History

Revisado: 09-19-19

There is much to profit from in this lecture, with one strong caveat I'll get to. Professor Bartlett is a great story teller and he alternates well between the macro and the micro in summarizing the Italian Renaissance. He treats us to details of personages and events, and he also aims to interpret those details and show how they caused history to develop as it did.

But, as a believing Roman Catholic, I thought he left a gaping hole in not describing the life and times of the faithful and their impact on the Italian Renaissance. When you focus so much on Power Politics, you neglect to see the impact of lived faith. The lives of the saints were quite prominent during this period -- individuals who were recognized for their impact on the world by acclamation of people who knew them. I am well aware of the sins of the clergy and the Popes during this period and Professor Bartlett will rightly detail those sins. My faith is not built on human beings. But you will not hear much about the saints or the lives of the faithful which did much to make the Renaissance what it was, too.

Some historians seem to fear they may sound too sectarian in offering those details. But the historian's job is to present details and assign causes to events, irrespective of the source of those causes. One need not be a Catholic to be a historian of Catholic events. But one cannot be a historian of Catholic events if one excludes details of Catholic life and faith from consideration, when those details are also important causes of events. In my estimation, Professor Bartlett did so here and his work would have been more complete, and equally interesting to believer and non-believer alike, if he had augmented it with details of the lived experience of faith during these times. The Church is always something more than just Power Politics, even if, at times, it may be that.

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Essential for Dickens' Readers

Revisado: 12-08-17

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If you're like me and have read most of Dickens' popular works, you'd be tempted to bypass this. Don't! Everything you love about other Dickens' characters, you will find matched here in spades - detestable villains, tortured souls, noble spirits, saintly heroes, hilarious sidekicks, arrogant buffoons, and insufferable ignoramuses - and all within the eternal context of sin and redemption, crime and punishment, and the overriding power of love. The book is long, but every bit worth it. And David Timson is probably the best doggone reader I've ever heard. Every. Single. Character. Is perfect. As with the Pickwick Papers, you'll be sad when you have to end.

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Worth every minute

Revisado: 06-16-16

This is a story of an incredible man who overcame every obstacle he faced and after it all, after finding God, was truly "unbroken".
The details contained in this book were so perfectly described, I felt as if I were there experiencing every second of each character's life.
Would recommend this book to everyone because it so perfectly depicts human nature and that with determination and faith, you can overcome anything.

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