Steven Ozment ist Spezialist für das frühe und moderne Deutschland, die europäische Familie und die protestantische Reformation. Seine Arbeit erforscht die komplexen sozialen und religiösen Umwälzungen, die prägende Perioden der europäischen Geschichte gestalteten. Ozments Ansatz zeichnet sich durch ein tiefes Verständnis historischer Prozesse und deren Auswirkungen auf das Leben von Individuen aus. Leser werden seine Fähigkeit schätzen, die Vergangenheit lebendig werden zu lassen und komplexe Themen zugänglich zu machen.
Zu Beginn der zwanziger Jahre des 16. Jahrhunderts sah es so aus, als sei Anna Büchler ein glückliches und sorgenloses Leben beschieden und keines, das sich durch endlose Familienzwistigkeiten und Rechtsstreitigkeiten auszeichnete. In eine höchst angesehene Familie hineingeboren, selbstbewußt und von jugendlilchem Überschwang, galt sie in ihrer Heimatstadt als Schönheit, erregte jedoch durch ihr unkonventionelles Auftreten auch Aufsehen. Aber wer im 16. Jahrhundert im Rampenlicht stand, spielte nicht selten mit dem Feuer.
Steven Ozment, renommierter Hochschullehrer für Alte und Neue Geschichte an der Harvard-Universität, legt eine zwei Jahrtausende umspannende Darstellung des Werdens und Wachsens, der Irrwege und Erfolge einer Nation vor, für die er tiefe Sympathien hegt. Er plädiert eindringlich dafür – und praktiziert dies beispielhaft –, die Geschichte der Deutschen in ihrer Gesamtheit und ihrem realen historischen Ablauf zu betrachten und nicht von ihren finstersten Kapiteln her zu konstruieren oder in sie einzuzwängen. Neben der originellen Auswahl und Verknüpfung der unsere Geschichte prägenden politischen und geistig-kulturellen Kernereignisse und der sie maßgeblich tragenden Persönlichkeiten ist es vor allem der unverstellte, vorurteilsfreie Blick von außen, der die Lektüre zu einem Gewinn für uns Deutsche werden läßt.
This concise, full-color survey of Western civilization provides an exceptionally balanced survey of the political, social, and cultural development of Western civilization--its strengths and weaknesses, and the controversies surrounding it. Covers the major eras of Western civilization from its birth to the Cold War and the emergence of the New Europe. Focuses on several critical themes--1) the development of political freedom, constitutional government, and concern for the rule of law and individual rights; 2) the shifting relations among religion, society, and the state; 3) the development of science and technology and their expanding impact on thought, social institutions, and everyday life; 4) the major religious and intellectual currents that have shaped Western culture. For anyone interested in Western Civilization and European History.
An intriguing study of life in Germany during the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries draws on a rich variety of primary sources to describe the social and political climate of the period as well as the personal lives of individual citizens and their families. As he did in his much praised and highly successful The Burgermeister's Daughter, Steven Ozment analyzes and weaves together primary sources to create a compelling account of German life in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. From private papers and archives -- account books, letters, legal records, journals -- emerge fascinating stories rescued from history: the complicated courtship dance of two politically prominent families; the joy of parenthood for a middle-aged couple when, after losing their first nine infants, a child survives; the difficulty a widowed mother has restraining her eldest son's expenses as he studies in Italy; the challenges faced by a Lutheran pastor negotiating the Church's bitter factionalism; and a Protestant teenager coping in Catholic Louvain.
This compelling book retells and revises the story of the German Renaissance and Reformation through the lives of two controversial men of the sixteenth century: the Saxon court painter Lucas Cranach (the Serpent) and the Wittenberg monk-turned-reformer Martin Luther (the Lamb). Contemporaries and friends (each was godfather to the other’s children), Cranach and Luther were very different Germans, yet their collaborative successes merged art and religion into a revolutionary force that became the Protestant Reformation. Steven Ozment, an internationally recognized historian of the Reformation era, reprises the lives and works of Cranach (1472–1553) and Luther (1483–1546) in this generously illustrated book. He contends that Cranach's new art and Luther's oratory released a barrage of criticism upon the Vatican, the force of which secured a new freedom of faith and pluralism of religion in the Western world. Between Luther's pulpit praise of the sex drive within the divine estate of marriage and Cranach's parade of strong, lithe women, a new romantic, familial consciousness was born. The "Cranach woman" and the "Lutheran household"—both products of the merged Renaissance and Reformation worlds—evoked a new organization of society and foretold a new direction for Germany.
Focusing on the everyday individuals who became the first Protestants, the book reveals the stories of shoemakers, housewives, students, and politicians who followed Martin Luther. Through primary sources like pamphlets and diaries, the author explores the Reformation's origins and the essence of Protestantism. Unlike traditional views that link the Reformation to German absolutism, the narrative highlights it as a significant assertion of Western values, emphasizing social reform, individual conviction, and a rejection of corruption and empty rituals.
The term "German" was first used by the Romans in the mid-first century B.C. to describe tribes in the eastern Rhine valley. Today, the complexities of German history are often overshadowed by the horrors of World War II. Award-winning historian Steven Ozment offers a comprehensive portrait of the German people, exploring their history from antiquity to the present. His work examines Germany's tumultuous twentieth century alongside its earlier achievements as a prosperous and moral society, tracing a continuity that has persisted despite various challenges. Ozment’s narrative spans from the tribes of the Roman Empire to the fall of the Berlin Wall and reunification, illustrating the Germans' desire for national unity, often hindered by alliances with autocratic governments and regional cultures. He highlights influential figures like Luther, Kant, Goethe, and Hitler, who have sought to transcend ordinary human limitations. Throughout history, Germans have shared a unique experience defined by external provocation and wounded pride, alongside a remarkable capacity for power. This scholarship captures the dual nature of a nation that is both ordered and chaotic, disciplined yet obsessive, proud yet uncertain, presenting a rich tapestry of German history as a reflection of humanity itself.
Set in the 16th century, the story follows Anna, a rebellious woman who defies societal expectations of obedience and modesty. Her flirtatious nature and affairs with a nobleman and a cavalryman lead to her estrangement from her wealthy father, who punishes her harshly. Undeterred, Anna embarks on a relentless 30-year legal battle against her father, siblings, and hometown, seeking financial support and justice. Her struggle highlights themes of female defiance, the quest for autonomy, and the harsh realities of patriarchal society.
