Of Luther books for the five-hundredth anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, there were untold hundreds. But few of these books are as useful, readable, and downright interesting as this book by Robert Kolb of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, which profiles in turn nearly two hundred of those individuals—friends, foes, or otherwise—who surrounded Luther during the sixteenth century. In fascinating detail, Kolb draws lively portraits of the people who interacted with Luther, some in major ways and others briefly and tangentially. There has not really been a Luther book like this in English since Walther Tillmanns's The World and Men Around Luther (Augsburg, 1959) which, though still interesting and valuable, was desperately in need of a successor. Kolb has done this and done this very well.

A description of this book may suggest that it is a type of reference book or encyclopedia, which it most assuredly is not. It is a history, well written and connected, which a person might read straight through or could also consult in part. What Kolb does in eight successive chapters is to draw concentric circles around Luther and then integrate the biographies of those around him into the narrative of the text. Some of these biographies, such as those of Katherine von Bora and Philip Melanchthon, run two to three full pages, while other minor characters are mentioned in brief paragraphs. This is done with skill, and the narrative of the book flows nicely without seeming forced or artificial.

The book begins by relating Luther's early life from childhood through his time in the Augustinian order in the first chapter. Here Kolb examines Luther's family and early friends, as well as his teachers and colleagues. The second chapter looks at the lives of those in Wittenberg who formed Luther's immediate context in the town, the university, and at the castle court, including major figures as well as some common citizens. In the third chapter, Kolb examines Luther's Wittenberg “team,” those of Luther's closest friends and supporters, and some of his early students, who went on to carry out the Protestant Reformation around Europe. Here he also gives accounts of some, like Johann Agricola, who eventually fell out with Luther, as well as artists and musicians such as the Cranachs. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 portray, in turn, the other German reformers, then the German students who studied at Wittenberg, and finally those students who came to Wittenberg to study from outside Germany, many of who became reformers in their own areas. In chapter 7, Kolb outlines the political leaders who were important to the Protestant Reformation, either in support or in opposition. This chapter mainly examines those within the Holy Roman Empire, but with some mention of others in Scandinavia and England. A final chapter relates those who were Luther's major European critics, mainly Roman Catholic, but also some Protestants outside the Lutheran tradition.

Drawing from the best of recent scholarship about Luther and the sixteenth-century world, Kolb has carefully built a narrative full of information that otherwise would be scattered throughout many different reference books, some of which might not be directly accessible to English-language readers. Kolb mentions (where possible) those not always cited in conventional volumes, including what we know about the women around Luther and some of the ordinary citizens with whom Luther would have had contact, especially in the tight confines of a small town like Wittenberg. The volume is complemented by six color maps, frequent portraits and illustrations, and a brief but helpful glossary and secondary bibliography.

For those who wish to learn more about the Reformation or simply to have this information in a very readable and accessible manner, this is an extremely important contribution. This is a good book on its own, but paired with a good biographical study of Luther and a recent history of the sixteenth century, it would provide a wonderful introduction to Luther, Luther studies, and the Protestant Reformation. Robert Kolb is to be greatly thanked for this valuable contribution to scholarship and learning.