The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Review by Henry Kamen, was published in 1997 and is the third edition of the acclaimed book focusing on the infamous tribunal. The years following the first publication saw an increase in the quality of scholarship and an influx of research. Subsequently new historical interpretations began to demonstrate improved insight, as works such as Benzion Netanyahu's The Origins of the Inquisition presented original perspectives. As a result Kamen was forced to re-evaluate the evidence surrounding the Inquisition, ultimately forcing him to deviate from his previous conclusions and adopt a revisionist perspective exploring historical causality. The Spanish Inquisition has been studied repeatedly for many years, and the Tribunal established by the Catholic monarchy typically elicits negative characterizations such as absolutist, oppressive, violent, invasive, and intolerant. Kamen, however, aims to uncover the true nature and meaning of the Spanish Inquisition and to protect readers from any unknowable stereotypes or misinformed notions. It investigates the ideological and social environment of the court as it attempts to determine whether the Spanish Inquisition was a product of its society while also assessing its impact, functionality, organization and overall reception. The events of the 18th and 19th centuries are mentioned in disparate ways, as they proceed with the most significant developments and exploits that occurred towards the early stages of the Inquisition. Kamen intermittently justifies and condones the Inquisition's activity in attempting to systematically eradicate popular misconceptions; it marginalizes the cruelty and power often attributed to the institution... middle of paper... anny, yet the many regions that were not in favor were forced to gradually accept it. He further argues that the inquisitive repression of the limited Protestant incursion into Spain portrayed “an obsolete image of an iron curtain descending upon the country and cutting it off from the rest of the world, bearing no relation to reality” (Kamen, 102) although he failed to process the absence of Spanish reform. Although Kamen fails to execute all of his arguments effectively, he disseminates many new and interesting perspectives on contemporary events and constructs his narrative with a clear tone, using detailed descriptions and vivid images to satisfy any reader hoping to better understand this aspect of Spanish. history. Works Cited Kamen, Henry. The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Review. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998. Print.