Rating: 
Summary: A life in review
Review: "Here I Stand" is a fine biography of the 16th Century Reformer Martin Luther. It encapsulates the full range of his emotions and struggles as he led the Reformation, and it also summarizes his key teachings. Bainton has a nice way of showing the progression of Martin Luther's thought, as in the earlier chapters the reader witnesses the struggle Luther underwent to free himself of the medieval Roman Catholic church's accretions to the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We see Luther's profound awakening to the Gospel, as he began to see in Christ the merciful and righteous God who grants salvation freely through faith. Then eventually we see the mature Luther, who has been freed of the false teachings and traditions of the medieval church. Bainton shows us Luther's boldness and courage as a reformer, and also his deep humility and his failings. This book shows us a picture of a man who was used by God to restore the church to the Word of God alone, to faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone.The places where Bainton is weakest in this book is in his descriptions of how Luther understood the sacraments (baptism and communion) and how he understood the two realms of church and government. He doesn't quite explain these correctly in the Lutheran sense. But otherwise he has a helpful balance of the factors that influenced Luther and the reformation: social, political, historical, and most importantly theological factors. And the story is supplemented with personal stories showing his love for his wife and family, and his desire for a peaceful reform of the church. Above all Luther acted on the sure confidence in the Word of God as revealed in the Scriptures.
Rating:
Summary: A life in review
Review: "Here I Stand" is a fine biography of the 16th Century Reformer Martin Luther. It encapsulates the full range of his emotions and struggles as he led the Reformation, and it also summarizes his key teachings. Bainton has a nice way of showing the progression of Martin Luther's thought, as in the earlier chapters the reader witnesses the struggle Luther underwent to free himself of the medieval Roman Catholic church's accretions to the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We see Luther's profound awakening to the Gospel, as he began to see in Christ the merciful and righteous God who grants salvation freely through faith. Then eventually we see the mature Luther, who has been freed of the false teachings and traditions of the medieval church. Bainton shows us Luther's boldness and courage as a reformer, and also his deep humility and his failings. This book shows us a picture of a man who was used by God to restore the church to the Word of God alone, to faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone. The places where Bainton is weakest in this book is in his descriptions of how Luther understood the sacraments (baptism and communion) and how he understood the two realms of church and government. He doesn't quite explain these correctly in the Lutheran sense. But otherwise he has a helpful balance of the factors that influenced Luther and the reformation: social, political, historical, and most importantly theological factors. And the story is supplemented with personal stories showing his love for his wife and family, and his desire for a peaceful reform of the church. Above all Luther acted on the sure confidence in the Word of God as revealed in the Scriptures.
Rating:
Summary: good to very very good
Review: Bainton presents a vivid portait of Martin Luther, his motivations, and his serendiptious strategies which achieved a goal he didn't even know he had. Bainton's portrayal delves past the spiritual Luther and shows us a glimpse of his very strong personal opinions.... It becomes a bit confusing at times, but Bainton has provided a time line in the beginning of the book which helps a lot.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, Informative, and Balanced Survey
Review: Bainton's work on Martin Luther is very easy and enjoyable to read. He does a good job of placing Luther's life and thought in its historical context. The many characters are presented in a balanced manner so one does not come away feeling like the author had any particular theological axe to grind. The numerous prints and engravings from the period are also a nice touch. My one major crtiticism of this book is the lack of documentation. Bainton quotes frequently from Luther's works, but there is not one reference to the source in either an endnote or footnote. Also, the Bibliography will only be of use to someone who reads German. The reader should understand that this book never goes much beyond a general survey of what can be very complex subject matter and issues of debate among scholars. Thus a graduate student doing indepth research into Luther will probably be dissapointed. Anyone, however, looking for an informative survey will find Bainton's work very satisfying.
Rating:
Summary: "a mighty fortress" of a book.
Review: Here I Stand was a required reading in my college course in Church History, and so my first meeting with it over a decade ago was not entirely of my own free will. But I enjoyed it then, and I enjoyed it even more when I recently dusted it off and read it again. Bainton's book powerfully reminds us that there is no way to appreciate and understand the history of Christian religion if one bypasses the enormous contribution of Martin Luther. If not for Luther's depth of brutal honesty in his own struggle to know God we may all still be living in times when the Word of God was chained to the pulpit. As Luther ineffectually fought his way toward God through "works" he once stated "I was myself more than once driven to the very abyss of despair so that I wished I had never been created. Love God? I hated him!" Bainton recounts how that during 1516-17, Luther's study of the book of Galatians resulted in his revelation of "the just shall live by his faith," a concept which reconciled for him, once and for all, the issue of the "justice" of God with the "justification" of God. This revelation unleashed the greatest REFORMATION in Christian thinking that could have been imagined at the time. Luther composed his Ninety-Five Theses and was quick to gain his reputation (in the religious world) as "the son of iniquity". Bainton chases this increasingly interesting story with novel-like tempo, and follows Luther through all of his personal crises, his hidings, false identities, public trials and public triumphs. Friends and foes emerge with all the hilarity and villainy of a great medieval romance... and as the world's greatest non-conformist theologian, Luther barges onto the scene in a very beer-spattering Robin Hood-like way. I found one of the papal bulls referring to the havoc that Luther was wreaking at the time to be particularly hilarious: "Arise O Lord, and judge thy cause. A wild boar has invaded thy vineyard." A wild boar indeed! It is great fun to watch Martin Luther trample. As I close the book now for the second time, I am no less amazed and breathless at how RADICAL a "stand" Luther took. For me he is a hero to the end. The quintessential INDIVIDUAL. An entertaining, beautifully illustrated, and most of all IMPORTANT book. Of this opinion, I cannot... I will not... recant!
Rating:
Summary: One of many Martin Luther biographies
Review: I am reviewing the 1950, Mentor Books Fifteenth Printing.
This book is well laid out. Much of the material is in lecture form. There are twenty-two content headings, 12 page Bibliography, References, Source of Illustrations, and comprehensive Index. The illustrations are just that monochrome sketches. Roland H. Bainton received an A.B. degree from Whitman College, and B.D. and Ph.D. degrees form Yale University and form Oberlin College, Dr. Theological Seminary and from Oberlin College. He is a Specialist in Reformation history. There are many biography and reference books on Martin Luther, each with its own strength s and weaknesses. This one by Roland H. Bainton is pretty comprehensive and goes into more depth than most. Do not get out your highlighter or you will highlight every page. This is the story of a religious leader who is well known for leading the Protestant Reformation. "I cannot...I will not...Recant! Here I Stand."
Rating: 
Summary: static
Review: I felt that this bio engauge to much in the theology and not enough in a narrative of action. Luther lead a dangerous and exciting life both mentally and consequently physically. I never sensed the danger in this book, and the theology could be over bearing and cumbersome. A better bio is by J.H. Merle D'Aubigne--The life and Times of Martin Luther. There you hear more of the debates from the participants' mouths and follow more closely Luther's journey--it is exciting--as it should be.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly engaging
Review: I found an old copy of this among my sister's college books. I suspected that I would read a chapter and then toss it aside, but found myself thoroughly engrossed in the world of Martin Luther and the Reformation. This book is really more of an essay than a critical history. Still, it is a wonderful introduction to an important chapter in Western history.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting biography of this extraordinary man of faith!
Review: I have read this book twice, and each time have learned so much about Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation and man of great faith. Luther tells the story of the Ninety-Five Theses and Luther's appearance before the Diet of Worms more like it is a novel and not a biography. The biography is filled with the great words of this great man. "I cannot...I will not recant...Here I Stand. I can do no more. God save me!"
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Luther biographies on the market!
Review: I have tried to read about Luther from various authors and they seem to come up short. Their is something very enriching about this particular bio. The author does not superimpose his own viewpoint onto the revolutionary church reformer. Here I Stand is a classic piece of literature and is easy for the non-theologian, even the unchurched person to read.
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