This is a very good, comprehensive overview of the development of Christianity from the late 2nd century to the Vandal conquest.

The first third chapter cover North African history and Christianity chronologically. Burns and Jensen then divide the book into chapters by topic and proceed to examine that aspect of Christianity primarily using three authors as sources; Tertullian, Cyprian of Carthage, and Augustine of Hippo. At the end of each chapter they reconcile the textual sources with archaeological finds.

There are 153, mostly color, images in the book. The majority of these illustrate archaeological finds.

The main weakness I find in the book is that due to the emphasis on the specific three authors a reader could be excused for believing these were virtually the only sources available for the period. While this is somewhat true for the late 2nd/early 3rd century, it is not for the other two periods.

I would have been interested in more discussion of contrasts between N/ Arfican and European Christianity but the book is already over 600 pages so this is not really a criticism.

I felt this is a good book. It covers various themes such as baptism, the Eucharist, care of the dead, etc., through individual chapters in some depth. It's a long read and at times a bit of a slog but worth it. ( )