This book envisions how the Letter to the Romans would be understood by members of a house church that met in a craftworker's home. Peter Oakes is part of a growing trend among New Testament scholars that view the early house churches as meeting in poorer settings than the domus or villa. The book includes a lot of detail about archaeological finds in Pompeii that don't seem to have much payoff. The book would be of use to those who are interested in house churches, archaeology, and the Letter to the Romans. ( )