Famous Men Of The Renaissance & Reformation

by Robert G. Shearer

An unusual and thought-provoking collection of biographies that tell the story of the two great movements in European history that ushered in modern times. Many of the figures will be familiar (Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Luther) but there are some unusual and intriguing choices as well (Machiavelli, Cesare Borgia, and Michael Sattler, for example). The text covers the period in Western European history from 1300-1550, and also includes chapters on Giotto, Botticelli, Savonarola, Dürer, Erasmus, Wyclif, Hus, Calvin, Zwingli, Tyndale and Knox. Includes over 75 b&w images of the men, women and works of art that distinguish this period of history. 29 chapters, 192 pages.

Genres: History, School, Nonfiction, Childrens, Biography

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[LuAnn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would have rate this higher as the biographies are interesting and good for a biography-based study of history, but it's so one-sided! No women and only one Catholic, besides the artists, Thomas More. I know the title says it's about the Reformation, but just presenting people on the Protestant side gives a very lopsided and inaccurate view of history. God was at work in the whole church of the time in men and women like Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, John of the Cross, Francis de Sales, Ignatius of Loyal, Thomas Aquinas, Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen and the popes who helped reform the Catholic Church. What a shame some children get such a biased view of history.

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

A helpful overview of the major contributing figures to the Protestant reformation. Famous Men of the Renaissance and Reformation includes biographies on Petrarch, Leonardo da Vince, Sandro Botticelli and others from the Renaissance and Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, John Wycliffe, William Tyndale and others from the Reformation.

Recommended for an adequate overview of some of the significant figures of these time periods.

[Mark Pasquini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting vignettes of the men who had an impact during this period. Makes a smooth transition between the two eras and the reasons. Recommended.

P.S. This took so long because I used it as a filler read. Just picked it up when I had a short time to read.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed book that was recommended by our homeschool curriculum for our Rhetoric history studies. It added a huge reading load on my already busy high schoolers. I think this makes a better reference book than a core book.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supplement to our homeschool history. Informative but not very interesting read.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really enjoyed most of these short biographies. Some of the people are just down right shocking and others were people we'd never heard of. Most of the biographies are 3 to 6 pages long and we were able to read them in one sitting. A few had to be broken up over a day or two. We read them out loud to ages 15 to 8 and all were able to understand and narrate back the details of the story. We were also able to discuss character and their place in history and such. Good times!

[Randee Baty · Rating 5 out of 5]

My children and I really enjoyed this treatment of the Renaissance and Reformation. It looks at history through the story of individual men. Even as a history buff I learned quite a few things that I have never known before. The "Famous Men" books are the only homeschooling resources I am hanging onto now that my kids are grown. I recommend all the titles in this series.

[Ruby Nazaruk · Rating 5 out of 5]

started on november 5th 2012 and finished on December 4th
School book

[Dawn Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great addition to our history library.

[Hannah Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing. Mr. Shearer has a unique way of bringing dry, boring names on a page to life with interesting stories and personality quirks of that person that you won't find in normal history textbooks.