Thursday, September 6, 2012

Don't Bow Before Reputation

G. R. Evans is a well respected Medievalist, who wrote a book about the roots of the Reformation. Her work was endorsed by some of the best in the biz, who now probably wish they would have read as closely Carl Trueman. Trueman's review was so devastating that IVP has pulled the  book and will re-release it after a major clean up.

There are at least three lessons in this:

  1. History writing requires exacting attention to detail.
  2. You need an editor who doesn't take your word for it or bow before your reputation.
  3. A book you haven't read don't endorse, or it may end in remorse.


See the review here
or copy and paste this into your browser:
http://www.reformation21.org/articles/you-cannot-judge-this-book-by-its-cover-a-review.php

1 comment:

Andrew said...

Wow. Trueman is a boss. Interesting stuff! One reason why I have slightly veered away from writing history as a profession is the convoluted nature of the historiographical process. Being a historian is a task that requires an almost obsessive attention to detail, and I'm there are people like Trueman who care enough to put published historians through their paces.