Dominion

Historian Tom Holland's new blockbuster, Dominion makes clear that what we're undoing, in our current moment of cultural crisis, is Christianity. --Angelus An absorbing survey of Christianity's subversive origins and enduring influence is filled with vivid portraits, gruesome deaths and moral debates...Holland has all the talents of an accomplished novelist: a gift for narrative, a lively sense of drama and a fine ear for the rhythm of a sentence. --the Guardian (UK) The history of Christian influence could not be better served than with Tom Holland's Dominion.... Holland's exploration of Christianity's notion of inherent worth in all humans is deftly handled, and at times it rises to something akin to greatness....This latest work elevates him to the front of the top ranks of our scholarly, yet popular, historians. --LA Daily Journal [B]ig and richly satisfying new history of Christianity, ...Dominion is superior even to Holland's much-loved earlier book Rubicon and every bit as crowded with vividly-drawn personalities. --Open Letters Monthly An ambitious account of the history and enduring influence of Christianity. Holland argues that the modern world has been shaped by the consequences of the life and death of Jesus. --Daily Mail ( The Year's Most Essential Books ) An engaging book. --The Times (UK) This is popular history and readable. It has passages of striking writing and...lots of substance. It's imagery and points of modern comparison often have the vividness that makes excellent broadcast documentary. So there is a good read here. --The Church Times What in other hands could have been a dry pedantic account of Christianity's birth and evolution becomes in Holland's an all-absorbing story.... It takes a master storyteller to translate the development of a philosophical notion into a captivating story, and Holland proves to be one.... Holland offers a remarkably nuanced and balanced account of two millennia of Christian history -- intellectual, cultural, artistic, social and political. The book's scope is breathtaking. --The Literary Review A sweeping narrative.... [Holland] is an exceptionally good storyteller with a marvelous eye for detail... excellent fun. --The Economist An engaging work...Holland exhibits a wide and deep historical knowledge...even readers who might not agree with Holland's thesis will enjoy his take on key periods of Western history. --Library Journal (starred review) A masterpiece of scholarship and storytelling, Dominion surpasses Holland's earlier books in its sweeping ambition and gripping presentation.... Dominion presents a rich and compelling history of Christendom. --The New Statesman An exhaustive, demanding and hugely impressive interpretation of our past, bursting with fresh ideas and perspectives on every page. --The Sunday Times At a moment when popular debates over 'faith' and 'reason' have become fashionable, Tom Holland brilliantly reminds us that the most essential values claimed by all sides arise from a long and complex cultural history of Christian moral imagination -- one we would do well to remember. --David Bentley Hart, author of The Experience of God Christianity may not be on the march, but its principles continue to dominate in much of the world; this thoughtful, astute account describes how and why... Holland delivers penetrating, often jolting discussions on great controversies of Western civilization in which war, politics, and culture have formed a background to changes in values... An insightful argument that Christian ethics, even when ignored, are the norm worldwide. --Kirkus Reviews (starred) This extraordinary book is vintage Tom Holland: history boldly and elegantly retold, with fascinating interconnections traced to create a narrative that cannot fail to stimulate, for it leads to a never-ending question. --Diarmaid MacCulloch, author of The Reformation: A History and Christianity: The First 3000 Years Terrific: bold, ambitious and passionate. --Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads: A New History of the World Tom Holland is fun to read, monstrously erudite, wickedly joyful, and ahead of the established consensus, on average, by 4 years, three months, and 2 days. --Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of The Black Swan