December 6 1999

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Eusebius The Church History: A New Translation with Commentary
by Paul Maier
Kregel, 412 pp., $24.99

Eusebius of Caesarea (c.260- c.340) was the first historian to pull together (and edit) the first three centuries of the church's history into some coherent narrative. Modern historians fault his theme—which, to paraphrase Eusebius, was "Ha ha, Rome! The Christians won after all, which proves the truth of our religion!"—but the work remains a rich mine of stories and original source documents. Without The Church History, our knowledge of these centuries would be paltry. Maier—professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University and author of popular historical fiction like Pontius Pilateand The Flames of Rome—has done us a tremendous service: translating, and to some degree editing, Eusebius into readable, engaging prose. With supplemental full-color illustrations, charts, maps, and commentary included, there's no excuse for not dabbling in history. Some passages, especially the accounts of persecution and martyrdom, still make for gripping reading.

Dictionary of the Presbyterian and Reformed Tradition in America
D. G. Hart, general editor; Mark A. Noll, consulting editor.
InterVarsity, 286 pp., $16.99, paper

This is the only dictionary of its kind (emphasizing history more than theology), guided by the keen minds of two highly esteemed historians, cleanly written and edited, and a bargain as well—a combination that suggests it will be a standard resource for American historians and thought leaders of the Reformed tradition for many years.

Unshakable Faith: Booker T. Washington & George Washington Carver
by John Perry
Multnomah, 400 pp., $21.99

The subjects of writer John Perry's double biography ...