Here is the perfect introductory guide to the history and ideas of the Quakers; one of the world's most fascinating and enigmatic religious groups. Emerging in England in the 1650s as a radical sect challenging the status quo; the Quakers are now best known for their anti-slavery activities; their principled stance against war; and their pioneering work in penal reform. Famous Quakers include Thomas Paine; Walt Whitman; Lucretia Mott; Herbert Hoover; James Dean; Judi Dench; and A.S. Byatt. And while the group still maintains a distinctive worship method to achieve a direct encounter with God; which has been at the heart of the movement since its beginning; Quakers today are highly diverse: some practice a protestant evangelicalism; others are no longer Christian. In this generously illustrated book; Pink Dandelion; the leading expert on Quaker Studies; draws on the latest scholarship to chart the history of the sect and its present-day diversity around the world; exploring its unique approach to worship; belief; theology and language; and ecumenism. It concludes by placing the Quakers in the wider religious picture and predicting its future.About the Series: Oxford's Very Short Introductions offers concise and original introductions to a wide range of subjects--from Islam to Sociology; Politics to Classics; and Literary Theory to History. Not simply a textbook of definitions; each volume provides trenchant and provocative--yet always balanced and complete--discussions of the central issues in a given topic. Every Very Short Introduction gives a readable evolution of the subject in question; demonstrating how it has developed and influenced society. Whatever the area of study; whatever the topic that fascinates the reader; the series has a handy and affordable guide that will likely prove indispensable.
#1465244 in Books 1988-06-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 5.31 x .83 x 8.38l; .90 #File Name: 0198730977366 pages
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. the Crusades in a socico-political contextBy doc petersonMayer's treatment of the Crusades is outstanding. His examination of Europe's forays into the Levant between 1095 - 1291 shows the complex inter-relationship and on-again; off-again cooperation between various secular authorities; and the political competition between state and church. To my suprise; he also draws attention to the political turmoil within the Muslim states between 1095 - 1192 that was an accidental boon to the Crusading Europeans.The majority of the book is concerned with the first three crusades (1096 - 1192) - the climate in which they were called; the goals and aims of the Church; the internal strife between various kings; princes and other aristocrats; the emergence of Crusading orders (the Templars; Hospitaliers and Teutons) and the "crusading states" the were established in the interm between waves of arriving religious warriors. The attention to deail is exquisite - the real strength of the book is the way in which Mayer puts the crusades in context with the myriad of forces at play; especially between the Pope and various secular authorities; and how this competition was exacerbated with the presence of crusader states in the eastern mediterranean. The last quarter of the book "skims" over the fourth and following crusades (although his discussion of competing theories of the foruth crusade: was it an accident or underhanded real politik that led to the sacking of Constantinople in 1204 and his treatment of the "children's crusade" made for fascinating reading); concluding with the arrival of the Mongols. The concluding chapters really read as if they were "phoned in" compared to his writing of the earlier crusades.Having not read the original German; I can't comment on the quality of the translation; other than to say it reads clearly; albiet the scholarship may be a bit dated (the first German edition was published in 1965; the second edition which I read was published in 1990. Compared to Runciman A History of The Crusades; 3 Volume Set: The First Crusade; The Kingdom of Jerusalem; The Kingdom of Acre (Deluxe Folio Society Issue); I liked this better if only because Runciman is painfully detailed; making it difficult for all but the specialist to get lost in the forest for the trees. For those seeking a solid; well-written and thorough history of the early (first three) crusades; this would be my recommendation.58 of 59 people found the following review helpful. The Crusades: A Masterful SynthesisBy A CustomerThe second edition of Mayer's work on the crusades should be a basic text in any course dealing with the subject. It is lucidly written with a particularly good translation by John Gillingham.Mayer has succeeded in explaining the crusade phenomeon within in the context of its own period by focusing on the societies which produced the crusaders. Mayer eschews the mono-causal explanations that too frequently pass for informed judgments in text books of medieval history. He turns instead to the numerous contemporary circumstances that led Christian men and women to make the long and difficult journey to the East. In particular; Mayer's effort to explain the problem of remission of sins and indulgences granted to crusaders is a model of clarity attained by few other historians dealing with the problem.Although Mayer is at his best in dealing with the First Crusade; his treatment of the later crusades is also valuable.This is the only work of its kind that deals with the first century of crusading warfare as a unified whole.
