This book is a collation of lectures and talks given around the time of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by Lee Gatiss, the director of the Church Society. The book is made up of four snappy and stirring chapters though the writing at times veered toward the sharp and sardonic, emulating the Reformers he is detailing. While the titles suggest biographical sketches, they are more thematic in tone. And this is a major positive for the book. The scope ends up being much broader and he is able to bring the truths and doctrines that so dominated the minds of the Reformers into relevant application for the contemporary church.

The pithy and eloquent chapters are filled with educational and (at times) entertaining tidbits make for a swift, edifying and pleasant read. It would be good for someone who wanted to know more about the Reformation and its continuing relevance to this day though maybe those in Scotland might find the chapter on the Book of Common Prayer a little distant and dull.

Ciarán R. Kelleher, St Andrews Free Church