content: Alister McGrath has a gift for clarity of expression and unbiased treatment of the theological thought and history of any era of which he writes. In the Beginning, unlike his more scholarly works, makes the periods surrounding that of the King James Bible very accessible, even to those who have little knowledge of the time. His highly readable, often hilarious, style provides a very easily understood, very comprehensive treatment of both the theology and politics of the High Middle Ages and Reformation times.