What do you think?
Rate this book
In Search of Richard Hooker
A new edition of the only full biography of Richard Hooker, the founding intellect of Anglcianism, ever written.
362 pages, Hardcover
First published January 15, 1999
2 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 7, 2011
Intolerably mediocre--it took me ages to get through this book, despite my deep passion for the subject matter.
There's a reason that this is the only full bibliography of Richard Hooker published since 1662--we really don't know that much about his life. And what we do know is, alas, not the stuff of which engaging biographies are made. He seems to have been a fairly quiet and withdrawn scholar, who once, to be sure, found himself embroiled in major controversy, but hastened to extricate himself from it. He spent the last ten years of his life in a quiet rural parsonage writing one of the greatest works of Protestant theology ever composed--but while that deserves tribute, it doesn't make for much interesting narrative. Unfortunately, instead of accepting the limitations of his subject matter and writing a suitably brief biography, Secor seems determined to imitate the bulk of Hooker's magnum opus as best he can, and produces a 362-page volume (and I'll tell you, it felt a lot longer than that).
Lacking factual material to make up this length, Secor decides to make stuff up--no, I'm not kidding! It's not deception, because he admits at the beginning that he's going to be doing this, but it's absolutely intolerable, partly because Secor is not a very good writer. When Hooker preaches a famous sermon, which has not survived, Secor decides to imaginatively fill in what Hooker might well have said, and seeks to enrich the picture with vivid descriptions of Hooker solemnly looking around at his attentive hearers, fixing his eyes upon them, expressing his affection for them, etc. It's all a bit ridiculous. Secor's favourite word is "Doubtless," always employed to hide the fact that there is in fact considerable doubt. "Doubtless Hooker laboured long and hard over this letter, pausing often to look up a passage from the Church Fathers." "Doubtless Hooker found his new lodgings at Oxford rather small and dreary, but he was no doubt grateful nonetheless for the opportunity to study." (I made these two up, not having the book in front of me, but this is the gist.)
Add to this the fact that Secor's grasp of Hooker's theology and and that of his contemporaries is about forty years behind current scholarship, and you get a hackneyed portrait indeed.
Sadly, despite the importance of this volume as the only book that really tells us the story of Hooker's life, it is almost impossible to recommend it.
There's a reason that this is the only full bibliography of Richard Hooker published since 1662--we really don't know that much about his life. And what we do know is, alas, not the stuff of which engaging biographies are made. He seems to have been a fairly quiet and withdrawn scholar, who once, to be sure, found himself embroiled in major controversy, but hastened to extricate himself from it. He spent the last ten years of his life in a quiet rural parsonage writing one of the greatest works of Protestant theology ever composed--but while that deserves tribute, it doesn't make for much interesting narrative. Unfortunately, instead of accepting the limitations of his subject matter and writing a suitably brief biography, Secor seems determined to imitate the bulk of Hooker's magnum opus as best he can, and produces a 362-page volume (and I'll tell you, it felt a lot longer than that).
Lacking factual material to make up this length, Secor decides to make stuff up--no, I'm not kidding! It's not deception, because he admits at the beginning that he's going to be doing this, but it's absolutely intolerable, partly because Secor is not a very good writer. When Hooker preaches a famous sermon, which has not survived, Secor decides to imaginatively fill in what Hooker might well have said, and seeks to enrich the picture with vivid descriptions of Hooker solemnly looking around at his attentive hearers, fixing his eyes upon them, expressing his affection for them, etc. It's all a bit ridiculous. Secor's favourite word is "Doubtless," always employed to hide the fact that there is in fact considerable doubt. "Doubtless Hooker laboured long and hard over this letter, pausing often to look up a passage from the Church Fathers." "Doubtless Hooker found his new lodgings at Oxford rather small and dreary, but he was no doubt grateful nonetheless for the opportunity to study." (I made these two up, not having the book in front of me, but this is the gist.)
Add to this the fact that Secor's grasp of Hooker's theology and and that of his contemporaries is about forty years behind current scholarship, and you get a hackneyed portrait indeed.
Sadly, despite the importance of this volume as the only book that really tells us the story of Hooker's life, it is almost impossible to recommend it.
June 22, 2016
A somewhat uninteresting Hooker, the biography paints in the details of surroundings, speculates about circumstances such as wedding reception food, and does the politics. The man, one feels, is somewhat overlooked, though interesting details do emerge. And the political streak in Hooker's thinking, no small matter, is mainly in view, and aptly handled.
September 23, 2007
Quite readable biography of the foundational theologian of Anglicanism, offering insights into the lines of thought dividing Roman Catholicism, Puritan Calvinism, and emerging Anglicanism. Sheds a bit of light on contemporary theological disagreements and tensions.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews