Recommended Reformation Resources

Here is a list of resources that I recommend to those studying the Reformation. All of these works are defensible at the highest levels of scholarship, though most (especially the biographies) are also fairly accessible. I’m only addressing secondary sources here. If anyone wants to talk about primary sources, let me know. Or if there’s a topic I didn’t mention, let me know, I probably have bibliography for it.

For a general overview of the Reformation, among many worthy contenders, I like The Age of Reform by Steven Ozment. He does a great job putting the Reformation in late medieval perspective, and in treating both the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. The only downsides are that it stops at 1550 and that the concentration on intellectual history edges out some of the political and cultural components. Another general guide, very popular in college/seminary classes, is The European Reformations by Carter Lindberg.

A great work that collects and arranges primary sources along with introductions and commentary is The Protestant Reformation by Hans Hillerbrand. Make sure you get the Revised Edition.

A book that addresses the theology of the Reformation thematically is Reformation Thought by Alister McGrath. I believe it’s up to a 4th edition now.

For a biography of Luther, I recommend Luther: Man between God and the Devil by Heiko Oberman. Oberman was pretty much the undisputed master of late medieval studies in the 20th century. Much current Reformation scholarship is heavily influenced by him. For focus on Luther as a theologian, well, there are many books, and I honestly don’t know which one is best, since Luther isn’t my specialty, but I profitably read The Theology of Martin Luther by Paul Althaus.

For a pure biography of Calvin, there is John Calvin: A Pilgrim’s Life by Herman Selderhuis. For a very engaging and insightful book on Calvin’s theological works, check out John Calvin as Teacher, Pastor, and Theologian by Randal Zachman. There are many other good books on Calvin.

For a great little book that features twenty lesser figures of both the Protestant and Catholic reformations, see Reformers in the Wings by David Steinmetz.

For a splendid (but hefty) history of the Reformed churches through the 16th and 17th centuries, try Christ’s Churches Purely Reformed by Philip Benedict.