Books by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Diarmaid MacCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church at Oxford University and co-editor of the Journal of Ecclesiastical History. He is perhaps best known for his work on the Reformation in England and Europe, including Reformation: Europe’s House Divided 1490-1700 and biographies of Thomas Cranmer and Thomas Cromwell. His book, A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, was made into a television series, presented by MacCulloch, for the BBC.
“The book got rave reviews, including from Hilary Mantel. It’s a very scholarly book but highly readable.” Read more...
The Best Thomas Cromwell Books
Benedict King, Journalist
“It is a history of the whole of Christianity, but he has a wonderful subtitle: A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. It takes a little bit of thinking about because you think, ‘Hang on, surely he means two thousand years?’ He doesn’t, of course, because he refers back to the Old Testament, and the history of Christianity before Christ. It’s a hugely ambitious book, but it’s just wonderfully told, and it’s full of such variety and colour, but also a tremendous amount of sympathy. He’s a very erudite, cultured writer, and I enjoyed this book very much.” Read more...
“MacCulloch is fascinated by the key moment where many scholars would say that the Renaissance ends.” Read more...
The best books on The Renaissance
Jerry Brotton, Historian
Interviews with Diarmaid MacCulloch
-
1
Survivors: Children’s Lives after the Holocaust
by Rebecca Clifford -
2
Black Spartacus: The Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture
by Sudhir Hazareesingh -
3
Ravenna: Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe
by Judith Herrin -
4
Double Lives: A History of Working Motherhood
by Helen McCarthy -
5
Burning the Books: A History of the Deliberate Destruction of Knowledge
by Richard Ovenden -
6
Atlantic Wars: From the Fifteenth Century to the Age of Revolution
by Geoffrey Plank
The Best History Books: The 2021 Wolfson Prize Shortlist, recommended by Diarmaid MacCulloch
The Best History Books: The 2021 Wolfson Prize Shortlist, recommended by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Every year the Wolfson History Prize seeks out books that combine careful research with good writing, aimed at the general reader. Here, Diarmaid MacCulloch, historian and chair of the judges, talks us through the outstanding history books that made the 2021 shortlist, and why, in his view, they’re all must-reads.
-
1
Oscar: A Life
by Matthew Sturgis -
2
Empress: Queen Victoria and India
by Miles Taylor -
3
Birds in the Ancient World: Winged Words
by Jeremy Mynott -
4
Reckonings: Legacies of Nazi Persecution and the Quest for Justice
by Mary Fulbrook -
5
Trading in War: London's Maritime World in the Age of Cook and Nelson
by Margarette Lincoln -
6
Building Anglo-Saxon England
by John Blair
The Best History Books: the 2019 Wolfson Prize shortlist, recommended by Diarmaid MacCulloch
The Best History Books: the 2019 Wolfson Prize shortlist, recommended by Diarmaid MacCulloch
Every year the Wolfson History Prize sets out to pick the very best history books written in the past year. Historian and Wolfson prize judge, Diarmaid MacCulloch, talks us through the wonderful books that made the 2019 shortlist: history books that are both great reads and serious scholarship.
The Best Books on the History of Christianity, recommended by Diarmaid MacCulloch
How can one get to grips with a subject as huge as the history of Christianity, a 2000 year-old religion with adherents in every corner of the globe? The popular and distinguished Oxford historian, Diarmaid MacCulloch, recommends books that will help you make a start.
Interviews where books by Diarmaid MacCulloch were recommended
-
1
Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy
by Michael Baxandall -
2
Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare
by Stephen Greenblatt -
3
Worldly Goods: A New History of the Renaissance
by Lisa Jardine -
4
The Printing Press as an Agent of Change
by Elizabeth L Eisenstein -
5
The Reformation
by Diarmaid MacCulloch
The best books on The Renaissance, recommended by Jerry Brotton
The best books on The Renaissance, recommended by Jerry Brotton
A century-and-a-half ago the Swiss art historian, Jacob Burckhardt, popularized the idea of a ‘Renaissance’ in 14th century Italy. For most people, the term still conjures up works of art by the likes of Michelangelo or Leonardo. But there is much, much more to it than that. Professor of Renaissance studies, Jerry Brotton, picks the best books to read for a more complete understanding of the Renaissance.
The best books on English Church Music, recommended by Andrew Gant
Think you’re not interested in church music? Think again. Read this interview and you’ll soon find yourself ordering some books about it too. And a Happy Christmas from your editors at Five Books.
The Best Thomas Cromwell Books, recommended by Benedict King
The Mirror and the Light—the final instalment of Hilary Mantel’s epic trilogy covering the life of Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII’s chief minister and architect of the English Reformation—was published to great acclaim this month. Five Books contributing editor Benedict King chooses five of the best books to help you get to grips with the real Thomas Cromwell and the political and religious environment in which he operated.
-
1
Thomas Cromwell: A Life
by Diarmaid MacCulloch -
2
Milk of Paradise: A History of Opium
by Lucy Inglis -
3
Iran: A Modern History
by Abbas Amanat -
4
Invisible Agents: Women and Espionage in Seventeenth-Century Britain
by Nadine Akkerman -
5
Power, Pleasure, and Profit: Insatiable Appetites from Machiavelli to Madison
by David Wootton
The Best History Books of 2018, recommended by Paul Lay
The Best History Books of 2018, recommended by Paul Lay
From female spies during the English Civil Wars to the enduring distinctiveness of Iran, there is much left to be understood about history globally. Editor of History Today Paul Lay recommends the best history books that hit the shelves in 2018.
