Finally, after having tried twice to read about Martin Luther and the Reformation and giving up, I completed the job with Eric Metaxas’s edition of Martin’s biography. While I believe the other books I’d read prior to this were also quite popular, they just couldn’t hold my attention enough and, more importantly, they went into the weeds far more in detail on every single point than I would have liked. I wanted something a bit more accessible for the average reader, and I felt that if the author’s edition here had gone into the same kind of detail, I likely would have given up on the subject altogether and watched a video instead.

Throughout history, many important figures have done things that have altered the modern world we live in today, for better or worse. Martin Luther was one of those figures, and his actions impacted the world in a way that mattered whether one was religious or not. Here was someone who dared to challenge the highest authority of the Church and state at a time when few had dared to do so and who, if unlucky, might pay for it by being burned at the stake. The author, like many others, writes about Martin Luther’s life from the beginning to his very end, using known sources. He also injects some of his own opinions about whether certain events actually happened or not, rather than simply accepting them as the truth, especially given how Martin’s legacy, stories, and rumors have grown over the centuries.

Suffice it to say, I feel extremely fortunate to have picked up this book as a last-ditch effort to read up on the life of this great man. Although there will always be some parts where the reading can be a bit tough, especially in Luther’s actual letters, those obviously can’t be helped. But for the most part, anyone on the fence about reading up on Martin Luther should give this book a try. I think one of the biggest misconceptions I’ve had about Martin Luther is believing that he actually wanted to anger and pick a fight with the church from the very beginning when he posted his theses on the church doors. However, this was not the case at all. One would also have believed that, on the issue of indulgences, more people would have revolted. The fact that none really did shows how the church and the pope had complete control over all things religious and how the laypeople had to just accept it as the truth.

Although there does seem to be bias towards Luther throughout the book, the author has nonetheless managed to keep everything engaging, and more importantly, it never felt as if the author got stuck talking about a specific point or theory for too long. History will never not be interesting to read. Luther’s place in history has cemented his figure as one of the most important in contributing to how we live our lives thousands of years later. However, Luther opening up Pandora’s box also contributed to events that were not so good for the history of humankind as well. But what is for sure is that nothing has ever been the same for humankind since Luther’s time.