Torquemada Revisited

About the Book

This book traces the origin of the forces and personalities that brought about the Spanish Inquisition and its impact on the larger world. It dwells extensively on the causes and principal figures of the Protestant Reformation, and explains how those attitudes came to influence the evolution of modern American politics and bigotry.

A careful reading of this narrative explains how political and religious leaders, often being somewhat interchangeable, have been able to devise "enemies" that can be used to convince sufficient sections of the populace to elect or retain in high office those who portray themselves as opposed to such "enemies"; ignoring, in so doing, the sage advice of Benjamin Franklin that "those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security."

About the Author

William L. Putnam --a world-known alpinist and broadcaster-- has written extensively on mountain and historic topics.

Putnam spent his career as a pioneering television broadcaster, serving as Secretary/Treasurer of the NBC-TV Affiliates. He became widely noted for the vigor of his televised editorials, and was for many years, the most influencial political force in his native city of Springfield, Massachusetts.

He is presently the sole trustee of the privately-managed, but world-famous, Lowell Observatory, in Flagstaff, Arizona; where he lives with his wife, Kathryn, and is occasionally visited by their several grandchildren.

Here, he brings his extensive knowledge and research to bear on a current topic that affects present-day political thinking in North America.