First published in 1987, the "Groundwork of Christian History" has been a primer for theological college students, undergraduates, lay readers and all interested in the history and development of Christian history. Now published in a new and attractive edition with an updated bibliography, the author still manages to argue his case convincingly that history need not be boring. He takes his readers from the earliest days of the fledgling Christian Church to the end of the twentieth century and enables readers to put characters, movements and places in their wider context and make connections between them. Diarmaid McCulloch is Professor of the History of the Church at the University of Oxford.