Solid, though now a bit dated. Chadwick writes well enough, but tried to cram a bit too much in, I think. Many of stories (well-chosen stories!) are very difficult to follow, even if you already know them quite well. ( )

Lots of good primary sources in the Early church background. Useful. ( )

an excellent short survey of early christian church beginning from the day of pentecost, through the brutal persecutions to the fall of Rome & the triumph of Christianity ( )

http://thelittlemaninchina.wordpress.com/2010/07/12/book-review-%E2%80%9Cthe-pen... ( )

Some of the scholarship here is a bit outdated (for instance, the contention that Eusebius of Caesara and St. Epiphanius of Salamis were proto-iconoclasts has been thoroughly dismantled in recent years) but this is still the standard and the classic text on early Christian history, covering roughly the period of the Apostolic Fathers (late first century) to the Seventh Ecumenical Council (eight century) and introducing all of the major themes of Church history along the way, including theology, liturgy, art, major figures, etc. The focus throughout is primarily on Western Christianity but the author is also familiar with Eastern practice and generally takes a balanced approached. If anyone is interested in learning more about Church history but has very little knowledge of it already, this book is an excellent place to start. ( )