Savonarola: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Prophet [NOOK Book]

Be the first to write a review

Overview

Girolamo Savonarola, the fifteenth-century doom-saying friar, embraced the revolution of the Florentine republic and prophesied that it would become the center of a New Age of Christian renewal and world domination. This new biography, the culmination of many decades of study, presents an original interpretation of Savonarola's prophetic career and a highly nuanced assessment of his vision and motivations.

Weinstein sorts out the multiple strands that connect Savonarola to his ...

See more details below
Savonarola: The Rise and Fall of a Renaissance Prophet

Available on NOOK devices and apps  
  • Nook Devices
  • NOOK HD/HD+ Tablet
  • NOOK
  • NOOK Color
  • NOOK Tablet
  • Tablet/Phone
  • NOOK for Windows 8 Tablet
  • NOOK for iOS
  • NOOK for Android
  • NOOK Kids for iPad
  • PC/Mac
  • NOOK for Windows 8
  • NOOK for PC
  • NOOK for Mac
  • NOOK Study
  • NOOK for Web

Want a NOOK? Explore Now

NOOK Book (eBook)
$22.04
BN.com price
(Save 42%)$38.00 List Price

More About This Book

Overview

Girolamo Savonarola, the fifteenth-century doom-saying friar, embraced the revolution of the Florentine republic and prophesied that it would become the center of a New Age of Christian renewal and world domination. This new biography, the culmination of many decades of study, presents an original interpretation of Savonarola's prophetic career and a highly nuanced assessment of his vision and motivations.

Weinstein sorts out the multiple strands that connect Savonarola to his time and place, following him from his youthful rejection of a world he regarded as corrupt, to his engagement with that world to save it from itself, to his shattering confession—an admission that he had invented his prophesies and faked his visions. Was his confession sincere? A forgery circulated by his inquisitors? Or an attempt to escape bone-breaking torture? Weinstein offers a highly innovative analysis of the testimony to provide the first truly satisfying account of Savonarola and his fate as a failed prophet.

Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

Literary Review
…this new biography represents the definitive English-language account of its subject. It offers the kind of exhaustive yet balanced assessment of the controversial friar’s life that can only be produced by an expert writing at the culmination of his academic career.—Jerry Brotton, Literary Review

— Jerry Brotton

The Tablet
Weinstein presents a reasoned and fair view of his subject as friar, preacher, prophet and politician.—Grahame Lock, The Tablet
— Grahame Lock
The Scotsman
Weinstein’s scrupulously researched finely balanced life is both a complex portrait of a fascinating figure and of a uniquely and creative time.” –Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman

— Michael Kerrigan

Los Angeles Book Festival

Won Honorable Mention for the 2011-2012 Los Angeles Book Festival in the Biography/Autobiography category

— Biography/Autobiography Honorable Mention

Choice
An excellent narrative study, very well written and judicious. . . . Highly recommended.—P. Grendler, Choice

— P. Grendler

Lapham's Quarterly - Anthony Grafton

“[A] luminous and learned biography . . . subtle, cogent . . . immensely compelling.”—Anthony Grafton, Lapham’s Quarterly
Lorenzo Polizzotto

“A masterpiece of the genre. Donald Weinstein has succeeded in presenting a wholly coherent, finely balanced and deeply moving analysis of Savonarola, the man, the preacher, the reformer and the political leader. Weinstein's understanding and presentation of the complex political, social and religious contexts in which Savonarola operated are outstanding and unmatched by any other biographer.”—Lorenzo Polizzotto, The University of Western Australia
Alison Brown

"Eminently readable, neither hagiographical nor overcritical, the biography, which will surely become the definitive account of this Renaissance prophet, leads us through the drama of Savonarola's life, allowing the man himself to emerge from generously-quoted sermons, letters and chronicles, as well as from the author's own deeply-researched and judicious narrative."—Alison Brown, author of The Return of Lucretius to Renaissance Florence
Kate Lowe

“The genius of Renaissance history lies in its capacity to remain forever contemporary. Donald Weinstein's smooth biography brilliantly reveals Savonarola as a man for our unstable and risk-riven times, dangerously mixing charismatic leadership, governance and fundamentalist religion.”—Kate Lowe, Queen Mary University of London
Gene Brucker

“Since his early research some forty years ago in the history of Renaissance Florence, Donald Weinstein has concentrated on that city’s religious life. His new biography of Girolamo Savonarola is a testimonial to his vast erudition, and to his penetrating insights into that complex world. Weinstein focuses on the Dominican friar’s role as a prophet, and his vision of Florence as the new Jerusalem. This dramatic account of the rise and fall of a major historical figure is an important contribution to the history of Florence during one of its most traumatic phases.”—Gene Brucker, Professor Emeritus, University of California Berkeley
Literary Review - Jerry Brotton
“…this new biography represents the definitive English-language account of its subject. It offers the kind of exhaustive yet balanced assessment of the controversial friar’s life that can only be produced by an expert writing at the culmination of his academic career.”—Jerry Brotton, Literary Review
The Tablet - Grahame Lock

“Weinstein presents a reasoned and fair view of his subject as friar, preacher, prophet and politician.”—Grahame Lock, The Tablet
The Scotsman - Michael Kerrigan
“Weinstein’s scrupulously researched finely balanced life is both a complex portrait of a fascinating figure and of a uniquely and creative time.” –Michael Kerrigan, The Scotsman
Los Angeles Book Festival - Biography/Autobiography Honorable Mention
Won Honorable Mention for the 2011-2012 Los Angeles Book Festival in the Biography/Autobiography category
Choice - P. Grendler

“An excellent narrative study, very well written and judicious. . . . Highly recommended.”—P. Grendler, Choice

Stefano Dall'Aglio

“This impeccable book is the culmination of Donald Weinstein’s lifelong study of the Italian Renaissance and is a must-read for anyone interested in Savonarola. With customary learning, insight and lucid prose, Weinstein provides an exceptionally vivid portrait of one of the most controversial and fascinating figures of early modern Italy.”—Stefano Dall’Aglio, University of Leeds
Three Pipe Problem - Hasan Niyazi

“Commendable . . . eloquently written and universally approachable . . . appealing to both general and specialist readers alike.”—Hasan Niyazi, Three Pipe Problem 
First Things

“Excellent . . . a nuanced and engaging study of a man too often caricatured . . . [a] fine piece of scholarship.”—Ryan Sayre Patrico, First Things
Catholic Historical Review - John M. Najemy

“A moving and magisterial biography . . . a powerful narrative . . . [a] splendid book . . . at once empathetic and discerning.”—John M. Najemy, Catholic Historical Review
Sixteenth Century Journal - Alessio Assonitis

“Elegantly written . . . remarkable . . . Weinstein understands both the man and prophet like no other . . . an impeccable account." —Alessio Assonitis, Sixteenth Century Journal
America - Robert E. Scully

“Insightful . . . a balanced and often intriguing portrait of a gifted but troubled soul.” —Robert E. Scully, S.J., America
Library Journal
On May 23, 1498, in the Florence of Michelangelo, Machiavelli, and the Medici, a paroxysmal apocalyptic drama that had unfolded over the previous eight years came to a fiery conclusion. From the fall of the Medici family to his own eventual martyrdom, Girolamo Savonarola combined a millenarian message of "last days" and a stringent campaign against moral laxity with a populist-styled republicanism. As Weinstein (professor emeritus, Univ. of Arizona; The Captain's Concubine: Love, Honor, and Violence in Renaissance Tuscany) ably shows in his superb account of the meteoric rise of the "Renaissance prophet" and his striking fall, Savonarola was a moral crusader dedicated to transforming Florence into the "New Jerusalem." His criticisms of the medieval church foreshadowed the reformation of Luther and Calvin. VERDICT The sum total of a career's work, Weinstein's account provides readers interested in Renaissance Italy with an elegant synthesis of the great Dominican's life that neither deviates from its subject nor descends into hagiography. Recommended; readers who enjoy this work may also appreciate Miles Unger's recent Machiavelli: A Biography.—Brian Odom, Pelham P.L., AL
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780300178487
  • Publisher: Yale University Press
  • Publication date: 11/22/2011
  • Sold by: Barnes & Noble
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 710,906
  • File size: 4 MB

Meet the Author


Donald Weinstein is professor emeritus, University of Arizona. He is the author of several books on Italian history and is a world authority on Savonarola and the Italian Renaissance. He lives in Sonoita, AZ.
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review
( 0 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
    If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
    Why is this product inappropriate?
    Comments (optional)