By: Tom Holland
Narrated by: Tom Holland, Mark Meadows
Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins

I do enjoy exploring long stretches of history, and my familiarity with Western European history provided a rich context for the content of this book. Often, Christianity is either an accessory or a minor factor in historical events, so it was fascinating to delve into some lesser-known moments in the spread of Christianity throughout Western Europe. Although Holland’s scope wasn’t limited to Europe, it formed the large corpus of this book.

One of the enjoyable threads I followed was that of Saint Martin of Tours, a 4th-century Roman cavalryman who became the Bishop of Tours and, eventually, a saint. His shrine at Tours grew into one of medieval France’s most prominent and influential establishments. About 400 years later, in 732, the Battle of Tours ended the progression of the Muslim religion progression into Europe. The battle took place in the shadow of his shrine, possibly drawing the Umayyads to that region of France. Then over a millennium after Saint Martin’s time on 10 November 1483, the day dedicated to him, a child was born, his name was Martin Luther.

I would definitely read this book again.