Fatal Discord

by Michael Massing

  As the book began to take shape, I had the support of three extraordinarily perceptive readers. Ann Peters was in many ways an ideal reader, combining a wonderful ear for language with an informed curiosity about the subject matter. Ann read draft after draft of chapter after chapter, showing heroic patience while offering suggestions and criticism with a supportive spirit that reflects her own fundamental kindness and decency. At an early stage, when my writing seemed to sit flat on the page, she suggested that I write out my chapters longhand—an inspired stroke. She was also instrumental in helping me integrate the back stories on Petrarch, Jerome, and others into the main narrative. When Ann’s energy finally flagged, Larry Zuckerman stepped in. Larry’s excitement for the stories I was unearthing helped boost my morale during the long stretches when I wondered what I had gotten into. With his signature analytical acuity, he urged me to make the opaque clear, spell out the implicit, and cut the extraneous. “What’s this section on the Anabaptists doing here?” he demanded at one point. (I moved it.) When I felt I could no longer impose on him, Judith Gurewich took over. Drawing on her own hard-won experience as a publisher, Judith read all the chapters of the book—many of them multiple times—and her periodic flights of wonder at the material helped rekindle my own enthusiasm. Seeing layers of meaning that I had somehow missed, she constantly pushed me to dig deeper and think harder. Our ongoing conversation about Luther’s impact on America proved invaluable when it came to writing my aftermath on him, and she firmly admonished me when she felt I was being too hard on Erasmus. Without the generous contributions of Ann, Larry, and Judith, I’m not sure I would have ever made it to the finish line.

  Many others offered valuable help along the way. Honor Moore was an early and enthusiastic booster of the project, offering insights gleaned from her own rich personal history. Brenda Wineapple provided encouragement as, first, the director of the Leon Levy Center for Biography, and then as a friend who, in reading chapters, drew on her own acclaimed work as a biographer and historian. For their friendship, encouragement, and (in some cases) cooking, I’d like to thank Patti Cohen and Eddie Sutton, Peter Maass and Alissa Quart (and Cleo Maass), Phil Weiss, Ruti Teitel and Rob Howse, Anya Schiffrin, Alex Stille, Diane Cole, and Rachel Cobb. I greatly appreciate the help that Ellen Thomas provided with translations and the insightful comments on chapters offered by Jon Swan, Amy Davidson, and Todd Gitlin (who urged me to expand on the “chamberpot” aspects of life in that period). I owe a special debt to two departed editors. When I was a neophyte editor at the Columbia Journalism Review, Spencer Klaw, with gentle patience and good humor, helped guide my work as a writer. And, over the course of three decades of writing for The New York Review of Books, I had the privilege of being edited, encouraged, cajoled, and challenged by Robert Silvers; I greatly regret that Bob (a great admirer of Erasmus) is not here to see the finished product. Thanks, too, to Eric Banks for inviting me to present my ideas to the fellows of the New York Institute for the Humanities, and to the MacDowell Colony for providing me a comfortable cabin in which to work in the middle of a New Hampshire winter. (How Erasmus would have loved having his lunch deposited on his doorstep every day.)

  Christine Helmer deserves a special citation. As a professor of religious studies at Northwestern University, she sought me out when she heard I was working on the Reformation. In addition to opening up the great storehouse of her knowledge about Luther and commenting keenly on chapter drafts, Christine became a friend whose encouragement meant a great deal as I stepped through the minefield of Reformation studies. Her insights into Lutheranism past and present and her impassioned efforts to understand the living legacy of the Reformation have left a deep imprint on this book. Christine also invited me to present my ideas at two conferences at Northwestern, where I benefited from the comments of numerous scholars. One of them, Paul Hinlicky, provided important guidance as I struggled to understand the ideas of the Apostle Paul and make narrative sense of his life. Christine also introduced me to Aaron Moldenhauer, a doctoral candidate in theology and a Lutheran pastor, who closely read the manuscript and offered many helpful suggestions and clarifications. I also appreciate the insights I gained from conversations with Heinrich Assel, Richard Cimino, Seth Dowland, Mark Granquist, Mary Jane Haemig, Jan van Herwaarden, Robert Kolb, Volker Leppin, Charles Marsh, Martin Marty, Mark Noll, Hans Trapman, and Martin Treu. Special help was offered by Henk Jan de Jonge, who, in addition to showing me around Leiden, carefully read two chapters about Erasmus and brought to bear on them the knowledge gained from his lifelong immersion in the work of his fellow Dutchman. On a visit to Luther sites in Germany, I had several guides who kindly showed me around. I would also like to express my appreciation for the marvelous libraries of Columbia University and the Union Theological Seminary, on whose shelves I found many of the worn volumes I needed for my research.

  I would be remiss if I did not also acknowledge my undergraduate studies in History and Literature at Harvard College. Not until I was well into this project did I realize the extent to which the training I had received back then in reading and thinking about texts (fictional and factual) was helping me to unlock the meaning of the texts (sacred and profane) at the heart of this book. I fondly recall the many invigorating conversations I had with Professor John Clive about how to write history. My special concentration was English and French history and literature from 1750 on. At the time, I felt that nothing before that year really mattered. My visits to Rome made me aware of how short-sighted that notion was, and helped set me off on this journey into the more distant past.

  In making that journey, I received tremendous support from the team at HarperCollins. I came greatly to value the wise judgment of my editor, Jonathan Jao. His keen sense of what to keep and what to cut helped prevent this book from being even longer than it is; his reflections were especially helpful in shaping my aftermaths. The highly versatile Sofia Groopman helped with everything from illustrations to emendations, and her sunny disposition proved especially welcome in the face of recurrent deadlines. I would also like to thank the copyeditors and proofreaders for their many catches; Rachel Elinsky, for her energetic efforts to get the book a hearing; and Jonathan Burnham, for his patience and forbearance. And I hardly know where to begin in thanking my agent, Kathy Robbins—for her sage editorial advice, her negotiating aplomb, her fierce protectiveness, and, most important, her steadfast moral support during many difficult passages. Through times both lean and fat, Kathy has been there for me, leaving me deeply in her debt.

  Finally, I would like to acknowledge the memory of my father, the support of my sister, and the unflagging backing of my mother, who not only proved a bulwark during some rough stretches but also learned to show restraint in asking when the book would be done.

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