The Grand Inquisitor’s Manual by nationally bestselling author Jonathan Kirsch is a provocative popular history of the Inquisition, the 12th century reign of church-sanctioned terror. Ranging from the Knights Templar to the first Protestants, from Joan of Arc to Galileo, The Grand Inquisitor’s Manual is a fascinating and sobering study of the torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of “heretics” in God’s name—the original blueprints for persecution originally drafted in the Middle Ages but followed for centuries afterwards, up to and including the “advanced interrogation methods” recently employed at Guantanamo Bay.
Editorial Reviews
"A scathing account of the Inquisition’s 600-year campaign to stifle religious dissent, as well as to persecute various groups of people it branded as alien menaces to communal security.” –Los Angeles Times
"Jonathan Kirsch is a fine storyteller with a flair for rendering ancient tales relevant and appealing to modern audiences.” —Washington Post
“Kirsch offers up an amazing recounting of the abuses of clergy and state in those terrible times. Kirsch’s powerful and cautionary account is essential reading for historians and anyone who wants to understand the potential dark side of religion.” —Publishers Weekly
"An important book that is essential reading in our torn, conflicted world: it is articulate, learned, and balanced." —Karen Armstrong, New York Times bestselling author of A History of God.
About the Author
Jonathan Kirsch is the author of ten books, including the national bestseller The Harlot by the Side of the Road and his most recent work, the Los Angeles Times bestseller A History of the End of the World. Kirsch is also a book columnist for the Los Angeles Times, a broadcaster for NPR affiliates in Southern California, and an adjunct professor at New York University.
