About the Author

Martin Marty has written a number of seminal works on religion, and has received some seventy-five honorary doctorates. His awards include the National Book Award, the National Humanities Medal, and the Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He lives in Chicago with his wife.

Reviews

“A whirlwind tour of the history of Christianity . . . [Martin] Marty draws on his deep historical knowledge, and the quirky details he inserts paint a lively picture of Christianity’s spread.”
–The Christian Science Monitor

“Only Martin Marty, with his extraordinary range of historical understanding, could have written this masterful account of the Christian world.”
–Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels

“A vitally important book: Christianity has never been a more global religion than it is today, yet here we can see how global it has always been. . . . Marty writes with whimsical accessibility, the passion of a believer and the critical eye of a hard-nosed skeptic.”
–Publishers Weekly

“An effective combination of erudition and accessibility.”
–Kirkus Reviews

“A real achievement . . . a rich, multilayered narrative.”
–The Globe and Mail

"A whirlwind tour of the history of Christianity . . . [Martin] Marty draws on his deep historical knowledge, and the quirky details he inserts paint a lively picture of Christianity's spread."
-The Christian Science Monitor

"Only Martin Marty, with his extraordinary range of historical understanding, could have written this masterful account of the Christian world."
-Elaine Pagels, author of The Gnostic Gospels

"A vitally important book: Christianity has never been a more global religion than it is today, yet here we can see how global it has always been. . . . Marty writes with whimsical accessibility, the passion of a believer and the critical eye of a hard-nosed skeptic."
-Publishers Weekly

"An effective combination of erudition and accessibility."
-Kirkus Reviews

"A real achievement . . . a rich, multilayered narrative."
-The Globe and Mail

Few scholars today could have attempted what Marty has done here; few combine Marty's broad scholarship and long experience with his accessible style: Swiss Roman Catholic theologian Hans King is Marty's match and more in intellectual reach, but he is too dense a writer for general readership; Paul Johnson's History of Christianity is comparable but tendentious and now dated. Marty's Christian World attempts, in fewer than 250 pages, to offer a worldwide history of Christianity from its beginnings to the present day, not overlooking, as many do, Africa, Latin America, and Asia. As a beginner's introduction, it can hardly be bettered, although some will feel the abbreviated discussion of theological change and cultural influence. Readers of a scholarly bent will grieve the lack of footnotes and a bibliography, but Marty's work will serve many church groups and classrooms well. Highly recommended.--Graham Christian, formerly with Andover-Harvard Theological Lib., Cambridge, MA Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.