Martin Luther: A Man Who Changed The World (ISBN 0758606265)

Many of the major consequences of Luther's actions are not mentioned:
Martin Luther was indeed a man who changed the world. When he posted the list of 95 theses on the door of a church, he started a massive movement that led to a series of revolutions in Europe. Fortunately for him, the time was ripe for such changes. First and foremost, the printing press had recently been invented. By allowing the words to be quickly and cheaply reproduced, his messages could be spread quickly. Secondly, one cannot ignore the political climate. Many members of the nobility of northern Europe were restless under the political control imposed by others in the south. Luther survived in the early years only through the protection of the powerful German princes. Luther was also in many ways the founder of the modern German nation. By translating the bible from Latin into German, he helped develop the language and a national consciousness among the German populace. Fundamentally, Luther was a conservative, when the peasants revolted, he came down firmly on the side of the aristocracy, opposing mass movements when they were not religiously directed. While this is a good bock for children and Luther deserves the accolades for his incredible achievements, not enough is mentioned about the significance of the political situation in Europe. Furthermore, there is no mention of the horrific religious wars that took place in Europe over the reformation and counter-reformation. Finally, there is little mention of how the newfound religious freedom allowed for the dramatic expansion of scientific exploration. Scientists such as the persecuted Galileo no longer had to fear the consequences of violating the dogma of the Catholic Church.

Great book on a great man.:
I've read this to my children several times and they love it each time. This is a great introduction to Luther for younger readers or pre-readers.

Fantastic Read:
I came across this book while looking for other homeschooling books here at Amazon. Well, I ordered it and was extremely pleased! At Amazon you couldn't look through it like other books on-line so I took a chance and bought it. So glad I did. It almost brought tears to my eyes while reading it...knowing the strong, resolute faith Luther exhibited during a time when execution by the church was not an unknown practice. Truly a man of God who stood steadfast and unwavering in his beliefs and helped turn the tide against the church practices of his time. A great read and highly recommended.

A fine introduction to Martin Luther, enjoyable for both adults and children.:
Paul L. Maier is Professor of Ancient History at Western Michigan University. His areas of research include manuscript and text analysis, archaeology, and the comparison of secular and sacred sources from the first century A.D. Dr. Maier also serves as the second vice-president of the Lutheran Church -Missouri Synod. Two of his more recent publications are More Than a Skeleton (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003) and (with H. Hanegraaff), The Davinci Code-Fact or Fiction? (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2004). A forthcoming work is titled: The Real Story of the Flood, which is scheduled to be released by Concordia Publishing House in July 2008. This short book tells the story of the adult life of the great reformer Martin Luther. It touches on many of the key events that shaped his life and religious convictions. (i.e. encounter on the road to Erfurt, challenges as a monk, the after of effects of the 95 theses, etc.) While, this is categorized as a children's book, it will be enjoyable to adults and children alike. The writing of Dr. Maier and the beautiful illustrations of Greg Copeland make this book a joy to read and look at. Maier does a great job of expressing the challenges Luther faced in trying to come to terms with salvation as expressed by scripture versus the teachings of the church of his day. The reader will get a sense of the great courage it must have taken for Luther to face the huge obstacles that were constantly before him. I would highly recommend this book to anybody wishing to introduce their family to the life of Martin Luther and the reformation. If you appreciate this work, I would also commend several other illustrated children's books by Dr. Maier: * The Very First Christmas (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1998) * The Very First Easter (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1999) * The Very First Christians (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2001) * The Real Story of the Flood (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2008)

Beautiful!:
I happened to come across this book and am very pleased with it. The illustrations are just beautiful and the hard bounding is sure to make it a treasured book. The message inside is inspiring--especially good for an older child who is in the faith. This would make a great book for a child's book report too--there is much information inside that is valuable. Very nice book. I would highly recommend it.