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Loading... Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal…by Lawrence Goldstone
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. Great read! The authors have written an entertaining, well-researched work that weaves together church figures, political figures, mystery, intrigue, medical discoveries and books. Enjoyed it thoroughly as it openend windows into the past through the erratic and surprising travels of three rare books. The story of Michael Servetus, a 16th century scholar who couldn't keep his mouth shut and pissed everybody off--it was a toss-up if he was going to be burned at the stake by the Catholics or by Calvin. It was Calvin, and it was because Servetus espoused unitarianism--the idea that there is one God, one embodiment--not a trinity. The fantastic thing about this book is that it starts by tracing the threads of information that lead to the person of Servetus--universities in the Middle Ages, his family, etc.--then goes on to tell about his life, scholarship, persecution and death--and finally traces the three copies of his book down through the ages to the present day. If you have the slightest interest in rare books, censorship, the Reformation or adventure then this is the book - a quick read, well written in short enough chunks to apeal to today's reader Michael Servetus, Christianismi Restitutio no reviews | add a review
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(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:52 -0400)
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I would normally never read about organized religions, but this was never dry, and always made me curious to know what happened next. The history of discovering the few copies found is described as a mystery unfolding. The last third of the book gives credit to those people in history that recognized Michael Servetus's genius and kept his name and theories alive. I found the Doctor in the 1800s (Sir William Osler) very appealing, and reading his mini biography I was so involved I forgot the Servetus connection for many pages.
Its a great read for anyone that loves history, mysteries and understands the hunt and appreciation of rare books. (