Luther's Fortress: Martin Luther and His Reformation Under Siege

by James Reston Jr.

In 1521, the Catholic Church declared war on Martin Luther. The German monk had already been excommunicated the year before, after nailing his Ninety-Five Theses -- which accused the Church of rampant corruption -- to the door of a Saxon church. Now, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V called for Luther "to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic." The edict was akin to a death If Luther was caught, he would almost inevitably be burned at the stake, his fragile movement crushed, and the nascent Protestant Reformation strangled in its cradle. In Luther's Fortress, acclaimed historian James Reston, Jr. describes this crucial but little-known episode in Luther's life and reveals its pivotal role in Christian history. Realizing the danger to their leader, Luther's followers spirited him away to Wartburg Castle, deep in central Germany. There he hid for the next ten months, as his fate -- and that of the Reformation -- hung in the balance. Yet instead of cowering in fear, Luther spent his time at Wartburg strengthening his movement and refining his theology in ways that would guarantee the survival of Protestantism. He devoted himself to biblical study and spiritual contemplation; he fought both his papist critics and his own inner demons (and, legend has it, the devil himself); and he held together his fractious and increasingly radicalized reform movement from afar. During this time Luther also crystallized some of his most significant ideas about Christianity and translated the New Testament into German -- an accomplishment that, perhaps more than any other, solidified his legacy and spread his bold new religious philosophy across Europe. Drawing on Luther's correspondence, notes, and other writings, Luther's Fortress presents an earthy, gripping portrait of the Reformation's architect at this transformational moment, revealing him at his most productive, courageous, and profound.

Genres: History, Religion, Biography, Nonfiction, Germany, European History

255 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2015

About the author

James Reston Jr. was an American journalist, documentarian and author of political and historical fiction and non-fiction. He wrote about the Vietnam war, the Jonestown Massacre, civil rights, the impeachment of Richard Nixon, and the September 11 attacks.

Reviews

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book to read on the 500th anniversary of the posting of the 95 theses. I may have learned more about Martin Luther than I wanted to know. What an accomplishment to translate the Vulgate into the German of the people. And what an accomplishment to survive without becoming a martyr during those chaotic times.

Reston quotes from letters and sermons extensively. Luther had his physical problems about which he is quite descriptive (!) and ideas about the need to be fulfilled sexually even if it meant unfaithfulness to one's spouse. It is frightening to realize how his ideas came to be expressed in violence and anti-Semitism in later years.

The Catholic church certainly needed reforming at the time but the total breaks have caused so much more bloodshed over the years. How could it have played out differently?

[Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent overview of the first desperately dangerous years of Protestantism and the intrigues of the larger European world. Reston does a marvelous job of being scrupulously even handed with both the burgeoning Lutheran sect and a deeply corrupt Catholic Church. His portrait of Luther is expertly nuanced, warts and all; he takes pains to highlight the brillance of Luther's thoughts as well as his darker side, his burgeoning antisemitism,and his mysognistic views towards marriage and reproduction.

All in all a through and sharp look at a crucial turning point in Western Religious history.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

History is complicated. This account covers just the short time following Luther's posting of 95 Thesis on the church door. In the midst of Spanish Inquisition, printing press, Vatican vs. kings and princes, Ottoman Empire, plague, widening gap of rich vs. peasant, abuse of power and corruption, Luther was argumentative, angry and obstinate. But perhaps he had to be to move forward in the midst of chaos. Or maybe he was carried by his environment. Or both. In any event, I'm left grateful for whatever miracle caused any bit of grace and love to continue in the life of the church ... there sure wasn't much of it apparent here.

[Daniel Mount · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, it is engagingly written. On the negative side, it is not a book that could be shared with children or youths due to its choices to translate Luther's sometimes scatalogical language into the cruder English options available.

One random detail: There is an odd reference to Jerome as the first Bible translator. He wasn't; there were several earlier translations. But what makes this especially odd is that Jerome was asked to translate the Bible because of the low quality of the previous, poorly made Old Latin translations.

[Joan Porte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit dry in parts but a very informative look at his transformation

[Joann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Luther's intensity and drive literally jumped off the pages of this book. The book covered only one year of Luther's life so I cannot imagine the energy of the rest of his life.

[Jimmy Tarlau · Rating 3 out of 5]

It really wasn't what I expected. I've read many of Reston's books and this was one of the least interesting. I was hoping to read more about Luther's life.

[Loren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a broad overview with numerous interesting details. It doesn’t hold back on both the good and the bad. I especially enjoyed the discussion of Luther’s translation efforts.

[Micebyliz · Rating 4 out of 5]

an excellent account of the struggles and ultimate triumph of Martin Luther. it is hard to inagine a more difficult task in a more difficult time. i partciularly appreciated the section about translation problems, and the standard criticism of Talmudic scholars..and this gem "for the common reader, the goal was 'to make Moses so German that no one would suspect he was a Jew' ".

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

James Reston, Jr. does a great job of presenting Luther's passions, struggles and weaknesses in a way that underscores the amazing impact he had on the Christian faith. Reston does not ignore Luther's dark side, but he doesn't follow the sensationalist trend of many recent biographers.
The epilogue and author's note are just as strong as the rest of the book.

[KVB1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book gave interesting insight on Luther and his works. I felt like the author focused heavily on Luther's personal agenda during his translation work, but I found the authors comparison to other (semi) contemporary translations to be very interesting.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a great read, but I wish it would have been more datailed about his personal life as the book didnt venture in that area too much.

[Mike Studdard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Relatively short. Reviewed many of the key happenings in Luther's life. Covered his good and not so good sides. Added to my knowledge of Luther.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was good but not as good as I hoped for. It did offer more about the period of Luther's life but I hoped for even more about it. On there other hand there was more about the rest of his life, most of which I already knew, that I didn't really want. On the other hand someone who is not familiar with his life would appreciate this. One of the things that struck me again in listening to this is how "earthy" Luther could be.