Overview

The New York Times bestselling author of How the Irish Saved Civilization reveals how the innovations of the Renaissance and the Reformation changed the Western world. • “Cahill is our king of popular historians.” —The Dallas Morning News This was an age in which whole continents and peoples were discovered. It was an era of sublime artistic and scientific adventure, but also of newly powerful princes and armies—and of unprecedented courage, as thousands refused to bow their heads to the religious pieties of the past. In these exquisitely written and lavishly illustrated pages, Cahill illuminates, as no one else can, the great gift-givers who shaped our history—those who left us a world more varied and complex, more awesome and delightful, more beautiful and strong than the one they had found.

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Reviews

It's hard to imagine a more palpable or engaging history of venal popes and the horrific torture and burning of heretics in the 1500s than Thomas Cahill's Heretics and Heroes, the sixth in his Hinges of History Series. Cahill is our king of popular historians, and rightly so. He is eminently learned and wise, fluent in several languages, and opinionated and unsparing in his view of history. . . . In a little over 300 pages, Cahill encapsulates several dozen major artistic, political and ecclesiastical figures across a spread of several centuries. He touches on so many subjects, is so knowledgeable on everything he touches on, is so pithy and sharp, it doesn't matter if you know a little, a lot or nothing at all about Renaissance art or Northern Europe's rocky break from Catholic Rome. Cahill, you feel, would be the ideal dinner or driving companion. In spirit and in narrative strategy, he's the modern equivalent of popular journalist-historians like John Hersey, Jim Bishop and Walter Lord, who brought factual insight into events blanketed by popular myth. -- The Dallas Morning News Cahill is a felicitous writer. . . . [H]is erudition is impressive and engaging. No reader will doubt his enthusiasm for or knowledge of great Renaissance masters such as Donatello, Masaccio and Botticelli, as well as the freakishly talented Leonardo and that ruffian Caravaggio. Almost as important, Heretics and Heroes is illustrated in a lavish and handsome fashion. Anyone looking for a refresher on Renaissance art . . . or on Reformation conflicts and the subsequent wars of religion could do far worse than to pick up this breezy but reliable guide. -- The Washington Post The writing is crisp, conversational, and matched by very few non-fiction writers out there today. The great achievement of Heretics and Heroes is Cahill's seemingly effortless illumination of the Renaissance and the Reformation. I have learned a lot from what Cahill has done here. --James S

Cahill is our king of popular historians, and rightly so. He is eminently learned and wise . . . opinionated and unsparing in his view of history. --The Dallas Morning News A great achievement. . . . Seemingly effortless illumination of the Renaissance and the Reformation. --James S. Shapiro, author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? In much writing of history, the erudition of the authors is evident: even the footnotes have footnotes. But now and then we get to read history that is, simply, interesting. Tom Cahill is the master in this genre. He knows what the specialists know, but his form of scholarly art lets readers be freshly lured into the plot. He is the virtuoso of genres and moves easily from one to another in such a way that we find ourselves informed and inspired. Some years ago Rabbi Samuel Sandmel wrote a book on The Enjoyment of Scripture. What a shocking thought, that a noted scholar thought his writing could be enjoyed! In his series, The Hinges of History, and especially in his newest book, Heretics and Heroes, Cahill shocks by writing for reader-enjoyment--which is the best way to advance learning. I am glad to be in the company of enjoyers and learners. --Martin E. Marty, Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, The University of Chicago Remarkable. . . . An entertaining yet thought-provoking examination of Western civilization. --Publishers Weekly (starred) Wonderful. . . . Shows how events and a change in philosophical views can uproot and reconfigure entire civilizations. --Kirkus Reviews (starred) Cahill is our king of popular historians, and rightly so. He is eminently learned and wise . . . opinionated and unsparing in his view of history. The Dallas Morning News A great achievement. . . . Seemingly effortless illumination of the Renaissance and the Reformation. James S. Shapiro, author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? In much writing of history, the erudition of the authors is evident: even the footnotes have footnotes. But now and then we get to read history that is, simply, interesting. Tom Cahill is the master in this genre. He knows what the specialists know, but his form of scholarly art lets readers be freshly lured into the plot. He is the virtuoso of genres and moves easily from one to another in such a way that we find ourselves informed and inspired. Some years ago Rabbi Samuel Sandmel wrote a book on The Enjoyment of Scripture. What a shocking thought, that anoted scholar thought his writing could be enjoyed!In his series, The Hinges of History, and especially in his newest book, Heretics and Heroes, Cahill shocks by writing for reader-enjoyment which is the best way to advance learning. I am glad to be in the company of enjoyers and learners. Martin E. Marty, Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, The University of Chicago Remarkable. . . . An entertaining yet thought-provoking examination of Western civilization. Publishers Weekly (starred) Wonderful. . . . Shows how events and a change in philosophical views can uproot and reconfigure entire civilizations. Kirkus Reviews (starred) Cahill is our king of popular historians, and rightly so. He is eminently learned and wise . . . opinionated and unsparing in his view of history. -- The Dallas Morning News A great achievement. . . . Seemingly effortless illumination of the Renaissance and the Reformation. --James S. Shapiro, author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? In much writing of history, the erudition of the authors is evident: even the footnotes have footnotes. But now and then we get to read history that is, simply, interesting. Tom Cahill is the master in this genre. He knows what the specialists know, but his form of scholarly art lets readers be freshly lured into the plot. He is the virtuoso of genres and moves easily from one to another in such a way that we find ourselves informed and inspired. Some years ago Rabbi Samuel Sandmel wrote a book on The Enjoyment of Scripture. What a shocking thought, that a noted scholar thought his writing could be enjoyed! In his series, The Hinges of History, and especially in his newest book, Heretics and Heroes, Cahill shocks by writing for reader-enjoyment--which is the best way to advance learning. I am glad to be in the company of enjoyers and learners. --Martin E. Marty, Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus, The University of Chicago Remarkable. . . . An entertaining yet thought-provoking examination of Western civilization. -- Publishers Weekly (starred) Wonderful. . . . Shows how events and a change in philosophical views can uproot and reconfigure entire civilizations. -- Kirkus Reviews (starred) It's hard to imagine a more palpable or engaging history of venal popes and the horrific torture and burning of heretics in the 1500s than Thomas Cahill's Heretics and Heroes, the sixth in his Hinges of History Series. Cahill is our king of popular historians, and rightly so. He is eminently learned and wise, fluent in several languages, and opinionated and unsparing in his view of history. . . . In a little over 300 pages, Cahill encapsulates several dozen major artistic, political and ecclesiastical figures across a spread of several centuries. He touches on so many subjects, is so knowledgeable on everything he touches on, is so pithy and sharp, it doesn't matter if you know a little, a lot or nothing at all about Renaissance art or Northern Europe's rocky break from Catholic Rome. Cahill, you feel, would be the ideal dinner or driving companion. In spirit and in narrative strategy, he's the modern equivalent of popular journalist-historians like John Hersey, Jim Bishop and Walter Lord, who brought factual insight into events blanketed by popular myth. -- The Dallas Morning News Cahill is a felicitous writer. . . . [H]is erudition is impressive and engaging. No reader will doubt his enthusiasm for or knowledge of great Renaissance masters such as Donatello, Masaccio and Botticelli, as well as the freakishly talented Leonardo and that ruffian Caravaggio. Almost as important, Heretics and Heroes is illustrated in a lavish and handsome fashion. Anyone looking for a refresher on Renaissance art . . . or on Reformation conflicts and the subsequent wars of religion could do far worse than to pick up this breezy but reliable guide. -- The Washington Post The writing is crisp, conversational, and matched by very few non-fiction writers out there today. The great achievement of Heretics and Heroes is Cahill's seemingly effortless illumination of the Renaissance and the Reformation. I have learned a lot from what Cahill has done here. --James S Cahill is a felicitous writer. . . . [H]is erudition is impressive and engaging. No reader will doubt his enthusiasm for or knowledge of great Renaissance masters such as Donatello, Masaccio and Botticelli, as well as the freakishly talented Leonardo and that ruffian Caravaggio. Almost as important, Heretics and Heroes is illustrated in a lavish and handsome fashion. Anyone looking for a refresher on Renaissance art . . . or on Reformation conflicts and the subsequent wars of religion could do far worse than to pick up this breezy but reliable guide. -- The Washington Post The writing is crisp, conversational, and matched by very few non-fiction writers out there today. The great achievement of Heretics and Heroes is Cahill's seemingly effortless illumination of the Renaissance and the Reformation. I have learned a lot from what Cahill has done here. --James S. Shapiro, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University, and author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? Cahill cheerfully explains the enduring value of the Renaissance and Reformation movements to 21st century Western principles, injecting humor and a conversational style into well-written and easily accessible chapters centering on controversial issues and mesmerizing personalities. . . . Well-chosen illustrations and discreetly placed asides clarify his arguments. . . . Cahill writes passionately about the era's transformational art, the unexpected benefits of the Black Plague, and the intellectual struggles over secular and papal power, resulting in an entertaining yet thought-provoking examination of Western civilization. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review Cahill sets his delightfully analytic mind to the major transformations prompted by the Renaissance and Reformation . . . [he] makes it seem so simple to connect the dots, as the 14th through 16th centuries witnessed changes to every facet and walk of life--from the expulsion of the Moor The writing is crisp, conversational, and matched by very few non-fiction writers out there today. The great achievement of Heretics and Heroes is Cahill's seemingly effortless illumination of the Renaissance and the Reformation. I have learned a lot from what Cahill has done here. --James S. Shapiro, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia University, and author of Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? Cahill cheerfully explains the enduring value of the Renaissance and Reformation movements to 21st century Western principles, injecting humor and a conversational style into well-written and easily accessible chapters centering on controversial issues and mesmerizing personalities ... Well-chosen illustrations and discreetly placed asides clarify his arguments ... Cahill writes passionately about the era's transformational art, the unexpected benefits of the Black Plague, and the intellectual struggles over secular and papal power, resulting in an entertaining yet thought-provoking examination of Western civilization. -- Publishers Weekly , starred review Cahill sets his delightfully analytic mind to the major transformations prompted by the Renaissance and Reformation ... [he] makes it seem so simple to connect the dots, as the 14th through 16th centuries witnessed changes to every facet and walk of life--from the expulsion of the Moors in Spain to the emergence of nations and massive religious upheaval. The breadth of Cahill's knowledge and his jocular style of writing make for a remarkable book. -- Kirkus Reviews , starred review

Author Information

THOMAS CAHILL’s appealing approach to distant history won the attention of millions of readers in North America and beyond. Cahill is the author of six volumes in the Hinges of History series: How the Irish Saved Civilization, The Gifts of the Jews, Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea, Mysteries of the Middle Ages, and Heretics and Heroes. They have been bestsellers not only in the United States but also in countries ranging from Italy to Brazil. He is also the author of A Saint on Death Row. He died in 2022.

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