The Sunday Times bestseller, with a new introduction by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
‘If great books encourage you to look at the world in an entirely new way, then Dominion is a very great book indeed’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times History Book of the Year
‘Terrific: bold, ambitious and passionate’ Peter Frankopan
Dominion tells the epic story of how those in the West came to be what they are, and why they think the way they do. Ranging from Moses to Merkel, from Babylon to Beverley Hills, from the emergence of secularism to the abolition of slavery, it explores why, in a society that has become increasingly doubtful of religion’s claims, so many of its instincts remain irredeemably Christian. Christianity’s enduring impact is not confined to churches. It can be seen everywhere in the West: in science, in secularism, in gay rights, even in atheism. It is – to coin a phrase – the greatest story ever told.
PRAISE FOR DOMINION
‘A masterpiece of scholarship and storytelling’ John Gray, New Statesman
‘Filled with vivid portraits, gruesome deaths and moral debates… Holland has all the talents of an accomplished novelist’ Terry Eagleton, Guardian
‘This extraordinary book is vintage Tom Holland: history boldly and elegantly retold’ Diarmaid MacCulloch
‘If great books encourage you to look at the world in an entirely new way, then Dominion is a very great book indeed’ Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times History Book of the Year
‘Terrific: bold, ambitious and passionate’ Peter Frankopan
Dominion tells the epic story of how those in the West came to be what they are, and why they think the way they do. Ranging from Moses to Merkel, from Babylon to Beverley Hills, from the emergence of secularism to the abolition of slavery, it explores why, in a society that has become increasingly doubtful of religion’s claims, so many of its instincts remain irredeemably Christian. Christianity’s enduring impact is not confined to churches. It can be seen everywhere in the West: in science, in secularism, in gay rights, even in atheism. It is – to coin a phrase – the greatest story ever told.
PRAISE FOR DOMINION
‘A masterpiece of scholarship and storytelling’ John Gray, New Statesman
‘Filled with vivid portraits, gruesome deaths and moral debates… Holland has all the talents of an accomplished novelist’ Terry Eagleton, Guardian
‘This extraordinary book is vintage Tom Holland: history boldly and elegantly retold’ Diarmaid MacCulloch
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Reviews
Those who like their history with a dose of lessons about the present will be impressed by Tom Holland's ambitious Dominion
Holland is an exceptionally good storyteller with a marvellous eye for detail
It's not often that you come across a book that completely transforms your understanding of the world
An erudite and fascinating look at the enduring legacy of Christianity, which, as numbers of believers are dwindling
A brilliant meditation on how Christianity in its Latin and Protestant forms entirely changed the way humans conceive life and their relationship to each other
Fizzing with insights and challenges, this is one history book that is timely and important, as well as a feast of intellectual entertainment
[Holland encapsulates] so much, so intelligently and entertainingly, in a book that's fizzing with ideas
This book has ruffled feathers . . . lyrical, vivid
A rich and compelling history of Christendom . . . A masterpiece of scholarship and storytelling, Dominion surpasses Holland's earlier books in its sweeping ambition and gripping presentation
Tom Holland is fun to read, monstrously erudite, wickedly joyful, and ahead of the established consensus, on average, by four years, three months, and two days
This extraordinary book is vintage Tom Holland: history boldly and elegantly retold, with fascinating interconnections traced to create a narrative that cannot fail to stimulate, for it leads to a never-ending question
An absorbing survey of Christianity's subversive origins and enduring influence is filled with vivid portraits, gruesome deaths and moral debates . . . Holland has all the talents of an accomplished novelist: a gift for narrative, a lively sense of drama and a fine ear for the rhythm of a sentence
Tom Holland's stupendous new book . . . There isn't a page of this magnificent book that does not contain some
fascinating detail and the narrative is held together with a novelist's eye for character and theme
Terrific: bold, ambitious and passionate
An all-absorbing story
If great books encourage you to look at the world in an entirely new way, then Dominion is a very great book indeed . . . Written with terrific learning, enthusiasm and good humour, Holland's book is not just supremely provocative, but often very funny
A bravura swing through centuries of Western European history . . . a cornucopia of characters and information: almost everyone would learn from it something they didn't know . . . the range and unobvious sweep of his narrative are most impressive
Holland is an illuminating guide on a journey from Ancient Athens to 21st-century gay rights
Definitely my book of the year
I love the sweep of it
Sustained with all the breadth, originality and erudition that we have come to associate with Holland's writing