About the author, quoting from the book's back cover, "Ramsay MacMullen, Dunham Professor Emeritus of history and Classics at Yale University, is also the author of [multiple titles in this subject area]. About the book: Robert M. Grant of the "New York Times Book Review, said of this work, "Written in a fresh and vigorous style. . .[this book] offers an admirable survey of some major aspects of the history [of the early Christian church]"