I am very interested in early Christian history, so this book seemed right up my alley. And it was. The book was interesting for a number of reasons.
First, it focused on the participation of the average, or normal, bishop, not the "super stars" of early Christian thinking. This makes for material that is not often covered.
Second, it alerted me to a great deal of material that I had no knowledge of. I thought that most of what was left over from the early councils was just the creeds themselves. In actuality a lot of meeting notes about the councils have remained, and I want quite badly to read them (though most are apparently not easily available to the modern reader, a crime to be sure).
Third, it was interesting in that it brought out the political nature of some of the debates. Were the bishops capable of political maneuver? Apparently at times. It certainly gave me a look into the darker side of some aspects of early church history.
What I really regret is that I lack the experience to judge the quality of the historical work. But at least that will give me something to do in the future!
If you are interested in the subject area, I highly recommend it.
