All Can be Saved

Reviews / Votes

Winner of the 2008 Cundill International Prize in History, given by the Cundill Foundation at McGill University. -- Cundill International Prize in History Cundhill Foundation "In this superb and strikingly original book, Stuart Schwartz raises an audacious thesis that is sure to excite attention and controversy."-Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Tufts University -- Felipe Fernandez-Armesto "This book is a major achievement by a senior historian with a long history of prolific and insightful scholarship. It will become one of those cherished classics that change the way we think."-Teofilo F. Ruiz, UCLA -- Teofilo F. Ruiz "Not many academic histories make you laugh out loud. Schwartz shows ordinary people using vulgarity and humor to convince inquisitors that sex between single people was no sin, and that all sincere believers (Muslim, Christians, Protestants) would be saved-even though they knew such defiance normally led to savage punishments. This is a book you must read."-Geoffrey Parker, author of The Grand Strategy of Philip II -- Geoffrey Parker "Stuart Schwartz widens the road to religious tolerance with fascinating new examples from Portugal, Spain and their American colonies. Tradesmen, farmers, and slaves argue a down-to-earth relativism as independently as any radical scholar. An important book for understanding what leads people to accept difference and a source of hope for our own time."-Natalie Zemon Davis, author of Trickster Travels: A Sixteenth-Century Muslim Between Worlds -- Natalie Zemon Davis "Schwartz argues eloquently and convincingly... A flowing narrative that is at once gripping and enlightening... All Can Be Saved should prove to be a very important contribution to our understanding of religious belief, past and present."-Carlos Eire, Books & Culture -- Carlos Eire Books & Culture "... Schwartz is far too good a historian to draw hard-and-fast conclusions ... hitherto forgotten individuals of all categories (to) express their widely ranging views on the human condition afresh. As readable as it is scholarly, his achievement is highly to be recommended." - Count Tolstoy, The Monarchy -- Count Tolstoy The Monarchy "The range of its ambition, the extent of its documentation, and the breadth of its geographical scope make his new book a remarkable achievement."-J.H. Elliott, The New York Review of Books -- J.H. Elliott New York Review of Books Winner of the 2009 John E. Fagg Prize, given by the American Historical Association. -- John E. Fagg Prize American Historical Association (AHA) Winner of the 2009 Leo Gershoy Award, given by the American Historical Association. -- Leo Gershoy Award American Historical Association (AHA) Winner of the Bolton-Johnson Prize awarded by the Conference on Latin American History -- Bolton-Johnson Prize Conference on Latin American History "This richly textured study is full of fascinating material and rewards the reader with accounts and discussion of some inspiring human stories."-Catholic Historical Review Catholic Historical Review "This book represents a far-reaching, thoughtful, entertaining, and provocative study of dissidence and toleration... [It] will remain an important sounding board for future studies that examine the cultural history of ideas of the common folk."-James. E. Wadsworth, The Americas -- James. E. Wadsworth The Americas "Impressively wide-ranging... All Can Be Saved is pathbreaking for its methodology as well as its argument...Schwartz sets a brilliant precedent here for pushing aside the tired boundaries of Iberian historiography to uncover surprising, deeply rooted, and shared societal attitudes of the early modern world."-Karin Velez, Journal of World History -- Karin Velez Journal of World History