Automotive Holiday Deals HolEdit Shop Women's Dresses Learn more nav_sap_SWP_6M_fly_beacon Coldplay egg_2015 All-New Amazon Fire TV Subscribe & Save Gifts Under $100 Street Art Project Amazon Gift Card Offer mithc mithc mithc Amazon Echo Starting at $49.99 Kindle Voyage LR Shop Now BGG

Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Sell yours for a Gift Card
We'll buy it for $11.95
Learn More
Trade in now
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 2 images

Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things?: Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation Hardcover – November 10, 2013

by
Robert Bartlett (Author)
› Visit Amazon's Robert Bartlett Page
Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
See search results for this author
Are you an author? Learn about Author Central
Robert Bartlett (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 3 customer reviews
See all 3 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$18.88
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
—
$30.38 $23.75
Paperback
"Please retry"
$23.26
$18.26 $16.50
Take an Extra 25% Off Any Book

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Take an Extra 25% Off Any Book: Use promo code BOOKDEAL25 at checkout to get an extra 25% off any book for a limited time. Excludes Kindle eBooks and Audible Audiobooks. Restrictions apply. Learn more | Shop now
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
Hero Quick Promo
Up to 85% Off Over 1,000 Kindle Books
Visit our Holiday Deals store and save up to 85% on more than 1,000 Kindle books. These deals are valid until December 31, 2015. Learn more

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 808 pages
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press (November 10, 2013)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0691159130
  • ISBN-13: 978-0691159133
  • Product Dimensions: 2 x 6.2 x 9.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #767,002 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

5 star
67%
4 star
33%
3 star
0%
2 star
0%
1 star
0%
See all 3 customer reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful
A Miraculous History
By Rob Hardy HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER on December 23, 2013
Format: Hardcover
St. Augustine pondered the miracles the saints could do (this was before he became a saint and presumably dabbled in miracles himself) and asked a question that the medievalist scholar Robert Bartlett has taken for the title of his new book. _Why Can the Dead Do Such Great Things? Saints and Worshippers from the Martyrs to the Reformation_ (Princeton University Press) is an academic doorstopper, over 600 pages of small-print text, not to mention notes and a voluminous bibliography. It is a treat, though, to see such erudition amassed this way; it is hard to imagine any aspect of the cult of the saints that Bartlett has left out in this extraordinarily comprehensive text. Yet there is enormous entertainment here as well. The times were far different from our own, and if miracles are happening now, they are not the same sorts of miracles that so astonished and inspired the men and woman described in these pages. We do not have dead now doing such great things, for instance, as did St. Edmund of East Anglia, who even though dead got so angry with King Sweyn Forkbeard for pillaging his abbey that he ran him through with a spear. Bartlett does such a splendid job of sympathetic understanding and neutrality, it is hard to figure out his own views of such miracles. Those of us who take a skeptical view of the supernatural will find much to condemn here, but readers among the millions who believe in saintly miracles will find no reason to leave off believing.

Holy men and women doing wondrous things are part of many religious traditions. The early Christian church took this a few steps further. Not only was death no barrier for saints who wanted to continue working miracles, but their corpses, or bits and pieces of them, possessed wonder-working capacities.Read more ›
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Robert Bartlett Explores the Power of the Saints
By Mike Grant on June 25, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
The emphasis of death and the afterlife in Christianity is a major component of the religion's history. Robert Bartlett explores the Christian saints, known as the holy dead in this great book. He discusses a variety of saints and their alleged miracles, pilgrimages, and works.

One of the strongest points of this book is that it covers a large group of saints - even a dog! It emcompasses a group of women, political bishops, and the trade of relics. Bartlett's strength as an author comes from his experiences as a professor of medieval history in Scotland. His previous books include Trial by Fire and Water: The Medieval Judicial Ordeal and The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural Change, 950-1350, both of which cover different subsets of the middle ages.

Another of Bartlett's strong points is that it explores a human aspect of the saints. His best point is that "the cult of the saints met need" and provided a positive outlook for the "sick and suffering world." Adding personality to the tet makes it an engaging and thought-provoking read.

The main criticism readers might have of this book is that it does not necessarily set out to answer the question it poses in the title. Still, readers will appreciate this book as a demonstration of the prominence of religion in Christian Europe. Bartlett's story is one of passion and a search for happiness.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
0 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Five Stars
By Gary J Cregan on May 17, 2015
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Thanks
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.



Want to discover more products? Check out this page to see more: church history