A fresh account of the life of Martin Luther The sixteenth-century German friar
whose public conflict with the medieval Roman Church triggered the Protestant Re
formation, Martin Luther was neither an unblemished saint nor a single-minded re
ligious zealot according to this provocative new biography by Scott Hendrix. The
author presents Luther as a man of his time: a highly educated scholar and teac
her and a gifted yet flawed human being driven by an optimistic yet ultimately u
nrealized vision of "true religion." This bold, insightful account of the life o
f Martin Luther provides a new perspective on one of the most important religiou
s figures in history, focusing on Luther's entire life, his personal relationshi
ps and political motivations, rather than on his theology alone. Relying on the
latest research and quoting extensively from Luther's correspondence, Hendrix pa
ints a richly detailed portrait of an extraordinary man who, while devout and co
urageous, had a dark side as well.
