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From historian James Reston, Jr., comes a riveting account of the pivotal events of 1492, a year when towering political ambitions, horrific religious excesses, and a drive toward adventure and conquest changed the world forever.
I LOVE DOGS!
The Dogs of God chronicles one of the most savage epochs in human history, the years of the Spanish Inquisition. In an effort to consolidate their power on the Iberian peninsula and free themselves from the yoke of the Vatican, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella turned to the priest Tomás de Torquemada, a member of the Dominican order. Torquemada urged an Inquisition that would strengthen the sovereigns’ authority throughout Spain, particularly in the coming campaign against the Moors of Granada. When Granada fell, tens of thousands of Muslims were given the choice of converting to Christianity or facing death or banishment. Torquemada then turned his ferocity on Spain’s Jews, forcing upon them the same grim choice. And in the end, more than 120,000 Jews left their homeland.

With rich characterizations of the central players and breathtaking descriptions of the starkly beautiful Iberian peninsula, Dogs of God also portrays a time during which the entanglement of religious and political passions set the stage for the birth of modern Europe. Ferdinand and Isabella, in solidifying their control over the Iberian peninsula, also presaged the creation of the modern state, with its centralized authority and its collective sense of identity.

Reston’s engrossing narrative brings all of the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition into a terrifyingly brutal focus. And he looks beyond the dark deeds of 1492 as well, capturing the excitement of exploration and the promise of the future that was born in the same year. With an iron grip secured on the political affairs of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella turned their eyes toward the New World and the creation of an empire—and toward a young sea captain named Christopher Columbus.
Customer Review: warmed-over cliches
As some of the reviews below suggest (albeit approvingly), this is a one-sided rehash of the modern cliches about this era: the Christians retaking their land are evil and intolerant; the Muslims who violently seized these lands in the first place are noble and benificent. I look forward to reading Mr. Reston's forthcoming book on the bloody Muslim conquests of the Middle East, northern Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, Turkey and the Balkans, and their forcible conversion of millions throughout those lands, which were once predominantly Christian. That should be a ripping good read. I give it two stars because at least the prose is lively.
Customer Review: Reston's work is engaging and a good piece for beginners
This book is not meant to be a super scholarly treatment of the period and events in questions. Instead, the book is meant to be an invitation to the characters, history and events that make up a pivotal period in western history. Reston succeeds in wonderfully telling a story of the pivotal events that were taking place in late 15th century Spain, including: the final defeat of the Moors, Ferdinand and Isabella's expulsion of the Jews, the discovery of the New World, the horrors of the inquisition and the overall consolidation of Spanish power into one united nation. As Reston argues, the ramifications of these events are still reverberating through the ages. The maps are pretty decent, but not all places named are displayed on them. There are no footnotes (maybe 1 or 2) as this book is not meant to be another production of esoteric historians who examine fact after fact. Overall, this is a great book and a fantastic introduction to the period for those in need of such an introduction.


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