Workmanlike, dense history of the first five or so centuries of the Christian church. The book could have been better structured and more engagingly written: it throws a lot at the reader without much organizational framework. But there's a lot to throw, which unfortunately makes this book more "one damn thing after another" history than well-told history. It will likely overwhelm (or worse, bore) most readers. However! If you're genuinely curious about the origins of Christianity (and not easily overwhelmed) there's plenty to mine here. To such a reader, I would recommend pairing this book with biographies of any of the key Church figures who interest you. (In no particular order: Ambrose, Arius, Athanasius, Augustine, Boethius, John Cassian, John Chrysostom, Clement, Eusebius, Irenaeus, Jerome, Origen, Pelagius, Plotinus and of course many, many others). It's also worth reading this book with an eye to how power structures are formed, and how the doctrines a...
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