In addition to comments offered here I recommend you check out
http://www.calvin500.com
I got this during Pre-pub, so I don't need that discount - but nice information indeed.
Are you happy with it, Timothy?
The Calvin 500 collection contains a certain amount of filler, in my opinion. I certainly wouldn't pay anywhere near $1,000 for it, though $390 is obviously much better value (though I only paid $249 on prepub as I already had some Calvin stuff). Of the material that is there, Calvin's own works are by far the most valueable. I'm not saying the others aren't worth having, but their quality is quite variable, and they're all public domain stuff.
It depends on your library, but if you already have good historical bent to your library, you could search your library for references to these resources to see how well they're cited. Schaff's History of the Christian Church mentions a few of them. Dyer is 'graphic and impartial', M'Crie is 'valuable as far as it goes'. Google Scholar or Google Books might tell you something similar.
For myself, I find the added books occasionally helpful, but if I wanted to read a biography of Calvin, or an assessment of his theology, I'd probably choose something else.
I wanted to read a biography of Calvin, or an assessment of his theology, I'd probably choose something else.
These two were on the recommended reading list for the course on Calvin's Institutes that I took; at least I think that's why I picked them both up. Haven't read them yet, but they look very good and get good reviews on Amazon.com:
I haven't read any of the bios of Calvin in the Calvin 500 collection yet so I don't have any comparison to offer. I would expect that the more current authors have more recent scholarship available to them, though, so they're likely to be more comprehensive. It's annoying that the publication date for all the ones in the Calvin 500 collection is 2009. I wish Logos would show the real publication date in that field more consistently, not the date a previously print-based book was published electronically.
Another biography of Calvin available from Logos outside of the Calvin 500 collection is John Calvin: A Pilgrim's Life by Herman J. Selderhuis.
It's annoying that the publication date for all the ones in the Calvin 500 collection is 2009. I wish Logos would show the real publication date in that field more consistently, not the date a previously print-based book was published electronically.
Agreed.
Calvin: Origins and Development of His Religious Thought, by François Wendel A Life of John Calvin: A Study in the Shaping of Western Culture, by Alister E. McGrath
Just to make sure I haven't missed anything: these resources are not available in Logos?
I have Wendel's book in French, but I haven't had the time to read it. (If only I could make a Logos Reading Plan for print resources....)
Another good work of French origin is Bernard Cottret's biography of Calvin (although he can sometimes be critical of Calvin). I believe the English translation is published by T&T Clark.
I haven't bought the biography by Selderhuis (and if I do, I would buy it in Dutch), but I know that prof.Selderhuis is an excellent reformed church historian.
The resources in the Calvin 500 collection (which I bought in prepub) will keep me busy for some time. I especially like the works by Calvin himself. One resource in the Calvin 500 collection which often appears on recommended reading lists is Niesel's book on the theology of John Calvin.
Calvin: Origins and Development of His Religious Thought, by François Wendel A Life of John Calvin: A Study in the Shaping of Western Culture, by Alister E. McGrath Just to make sure I haven't missed anything: these resources are not available in Logos?
Correct. I should have been more explicit about that, but I would have provided links to the product description pages if they'd been available in Logos.
P.S. They'd be good additions to Logos, though.
