A marvellous achievement. As a meticulous exposition of complex story, done with vast learning, control and lucidity, it is a tour de force. ... brilliant insights. * Henry Mayr-Harting, Christ Church, Oxford EHR Feb 01 * The whole of Cowdrey's book is written with what the Germans would call Innigkeit; it comes from the heart as well as from the head. That is one of its most admirable characteristics. * Henry Mayr-Harting, Christ Church, Oxford EHR Feb 01 * Cowdrey makes occasional brilliant use of the dark mention. * Henry Mayr-Harting, Christ Church, Oxford EHR Feb 01 * This book is a masterpiece of scholarship. It is written with passion for Gregory VII but also with a passion for truth. Anyone with a serious interest in Gregory VII will need to read it. It will be argued with by many, but admired by all. * Henry Mayr-Harting, Christ Church, Oxford EHR Feb 01 * This is 'great-man history' at its finest. Like the man hiself, Pope Gregory VII is a learned, fascinating, frustrating, and overwhelming book that will set both the standard and point of departure for all future debate. Cowdrey, indeed, has put us all in his debt. * Kathleen G. Cushing, Church History, March 00, Vol.69, No.1. * The importance of this book must not be underestimated. The careful attention to detail and the masterful command of the sources, especially Gregory's Register, set a high standard of historical research that has long characterized Cowdrey's work. * Kathleen G. Cushing, Church History, March 00, Vol.69, No.1. * resonating discussions that shed light on the social, political, intellectual, and religious 'revolutions' that characterize the transformation of eleventh-century Europe ... excellent discussion. * Kathleen G. Cushing, Church History, March 00, Vol.69, No.1. *