Customer Reviews

The Inquisition: The Hammer of Heresy

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book did provide a good overview to the novice reader (such as myself). However, it could of done a better job extracting more detail and meanings to this horrible event. The book had good information about trials, sentencing, courts and so forth. However, the important content such as political, cultural and social and economical factors to the Inuquisition could of been better expanded.
I would recommend other readings unless your selection at your library is limited. This book is certainly better than Average.

Edward Burman states in in the Preface "Rather than the study of primary sources, this book is a synthesis of published materials", well at least he is honest about how much work he did, and it shows. Their is nothing new or interesting here. But you will find many curious statements such as the Catholic Church can not be held to blame for the misdeeds of the individual inquisitors. I always try to read at least two books on a subject, to get some perspective but this one was a waste of time.
The Spanish Inquisition, by Jean Plaidy was however an excellent book.

This is a good book. I found what I expected from a book of less than 250 pages, an atractive overview of the Inquisition's history. Here you read the not very noble beginnings of the Franciscans and Domenicans orders, the early history with names like Bernard Gui and later the famous, rather infamous, Spanish Inquisition and Thomas de Torquemada. If there is something we maybe all know about Spain, that is the Inquisition that lasted for hundred of years, a ruthless institution that left hundreds of deads and a country submerge in the ignorance where the only knowledge was divine revelation. It's a real shame what happened and the way many people died, sometimes in shows known as "auto de fe". The book cover the whole inquisition in Europe, is very well organized, with a refreshing conclusion, index and references.