Official Review: Protestants by Alain Marshall

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e-tasana-williams
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Official Review: Protestants by Alain Marshall

Post by e-tasana-williams »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Protestants" by Alain Marshall.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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American history books describe pilgrims coming to America in the 1600s to escape religious persecution, but have you ever wondered about the details of their life in England prior to crossing the Atlantic? Did you know that both Protestants and Jesuits were in Japan during this time? You may know what the pilgrims were against, but do you know what they were in favor of? Alain Howard Marshall's nonfiction book Protestants goes into these details with previously untold stories about England's 17th century religious separatists.

Most of the 25 chapters describe significant figures in the early history of the Protestant church: Robert Browne, William Brewster, Rose Hickman and John Smith, among others. The text is written as a correction of popular history of the early Protestants. What is known as the Coverdale Bible, Marshall argues, should be called the Tyndale Bible. Marshall writes that William Tyndale is responsible for writing English translations of some books/stories in today's Holy Bible, including the book of Ruth and the story of Pesach (Passover).

Marshall also includes several stories of the persecution Protestants faced for separating themselves from the Roman Catholic church. For example, William Tyndale was burned at the stake in 1536 for spreading the heresy that anyone can get into heaven by believing in Jesus Christ. In March of 1537 those found guilty of demonstrating against the Roman Catholic church were hanged, drawn and quartered. I can't help but think of Christians who are persecuted in similar barbaric ways around the world today for practicing their faith.

I would like to read this book again after it is edited. Grammatical errors, sentence fragments, misspelled words and misuse of punctuation make it difficult to understand the content on each of the 275 pages of this book. Aside from the editing, I would also like to see a works cited page, or bibliography included. The facts are interesting, but citations would add credibility to the contents, as many of the stories have an anecdotal feel to them.

I rate Protestants 2 out of 4 stars. The information included is valuable, especially as part of English and early American history. In addition, the inclusion of more common meanings of old English words is helpful. Examples are when "fairnite" is explained to be a fortnight, or two weeks; and "natheless" is defined as nonetheless in the text. Even with those two positives, the book is very difficult to get through due to the lack of professional editing. Mr. Marshall is clearly enthusiastic about his subject and has much to share with his audience, but not many readers will be willing to persevere long enough to complete the whole text.

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Post by greenstripedgiraffe »

Thanks for the review. I looked at this one and wondered how interesting (and factual) could it be. I agree with you that citations would add credibility to the stories rather than wondering how much is fact and how much is opinion. Good job on the review!
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Post by Kdonegan91 »

Great review! I agree that citations and editing are a must in non- fiction books that contain an abundant amount of information.
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Post by Lincoln »

I appreciate the honest review and the editing is enough to turn me away.
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Post by Sarah_Khan »

Great job on the review. :) I remember thinking about reading this but after I read the sample, as you said, I also found it confusing to read and I remember it being quite long. Kudos to you for finishing it! :tiphat:
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Post by LivreAmour217 »

Wonderful review! This sounds like a worthwhile book, and I would love to read an edited version of it. The Pilgrims tend to get a bad rap these days, and objective information is hard to come by.
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Post by Izesicle »

I voluntarily took a hit on my scorecard because I didn't want to finish reading it to review. It was so painful to read. I should have read your review first.
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

Works cited are inherently necessary to this type of book. Both for credibility and to aid the reader who wants to "know more".
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