Hilaire Belloc's landmark study Characters of the Reformation argues that Western Europe's break from the Catholic Church was driven by a land-grab and looting of Church property by European noblemen. Belloc has little admiration for the so-called leaders of the time and credits the Reformation to behind-the-scenes players. Each chapter is a mini-biography and individuals covered include Anne Boleyn, Pope Clement the Seventh, Cecil, Richelieu, Laud, Oliver Cromwell, Descartes, Pascal and more.

J. M. Carroll's excellent history of the Baptist church and movement illustrates events over the centuries, with references to a chart appended at the beginning of the book. First released in 1931, Carroll's superb church history attracted great praise for successfully summarizing all major events and turning points in the history of Baptism. The author sets out his work chronologically, from the time Jesus Christ lived and died upon the cross in 25 - 35 A.D., to the initial manifestations of organised Christianity, its growth during the Dark Ages, the Reformation, and finally the 19th and 20th centuries. Named ""The trail of blood,"" for the amount of hatred and persecution Baptists had endured over the ages, this book sets out to demonstrate how Baptism grew from a small niche of believers into an accepted movement firmly in the mainstream of Christian faith. Carroll identifies and explains a number of violent persecutions by the Roman Catholic Church, which disagreed broadly with Baptist doctrine.