This belongs to a series of books about influential religious, military, and political figures called "Leaders in Action." The author, Executive Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary and Culture Editor of World magazine, has written several books on Christianity and culture. His blog can be found at http://cranach.worldmagblog.com/cranach.

Besides its obvious reference to Luther's famous words, "Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise," the book's title also refers to a famous quote from Archimedes: "Give me a place to stand and with a lever I will move the whole world." That is, with a fulcrum, lever, and enough distance from the object to be moved, it is theoretically possible to move any heavy object. Veith sees a metaphor for social reform in Archimedes' observation about the physical world, but cites the inevitable failure of man's efforts to perfect society: "You can't move the world because you cannot get out of the world. You are in it, so it becomes impossible to step outside the world so as to move it or even change it." And yet, Veith says, because of the stand he took on the Gospel, Luther succeeded in moving the world. Not that he would take credit for this: "I did nothing; the Word did everything." He realized that he had to depend on something outside of himself (indeed, outside of the world) for salvation--he could not change from within.

Veith's discussion of the spiritual torment Luther endured before arriving at that realization begins very early in the book, after he sums up Luther's childhood years and undergraduate education in the first few pages. This struggle, his emancipation from it (his "tower experience" while studying Romans), and his clashes with the Roman Church and rival movements comprise the bulk of the first section (entitled "The Life of Martin Luther"), and just over half of the book. It is, of course, necessary to explain the prevailing theological views in order to illustrate Luther's opposition to them, and Veith is able to present theological concepts in a way that is not the least bit intimidating to the layman. Of course, this is not intended to be a book on theology as much as a book about Luther's steadfastness in the face of firmly entrenched institutions which had forgotten (or just found it expedient to ignore) the Gospel. But there is enough theological and historical context to convey what he was up against.

The remainder of the book is in two sections. "The Character of Martin Luther," in keeping with the theme of the series, emphasizes Luther as leader. Though lacking qualities often associated with leaders (he was neither self-assured nor pragmatic), and without wealth or political power, he was still "one of the most successful leaders of all time," says Veith, so confident was he in the Word and convinced of his calling to proclaim it. "The Legacy of Martin Luther" discusses his contributions to his own and subsequent generations, both to the church (e.g., liturgy in the language of the people, his books and hymns) and to secular society (e.g., his promotion of education). Veith calls his translation of the Bible into German his most important work of all, not just because it spread God's Word to so many who up until then had little or no access to it (and therefore no way to discern or refute false doctrine), but because it contributed so much to the literacy of the general population. The German New Testament, Veith says, could be bought for "about the price of an indulgence."

In the spectrum of Luther biographies, from concise to expansive, this book falls somewhere between Frederick Nohl's "Luther: Biography of a Reformer" (intended to supplement the 2003 movie "Luther") and Roland Bainton's "Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther." (The most exhaustive would appear to be Martin Brecht's three-volume biography, which I have not read.) It is written in a very accessible style, with short, easily digestible chapters. Because it is less demanding than Bainton's more thorough account (which is still quite readable), it may appeal to a wider audience than that book. If a non-Lutheran acquaintance were to ask you to recommend a book on Luther, this would be a good choice. That's not to say that it won't appeal to Lutherans. If you have not read a biography of Luther and would like to start with something more succinct than Bainton's fine effort, this would fill the bill admirably. A bibliography is included for those inclined to further study.

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