As a further instalment in Ashgate's Great Theologians series Thomas Weinandy offers an introduction to the theology of Athanasius. After a brisk survey of Athanasius' life and career (pp. 1–9), Weinandy explores the soteriology of the Alexandrian bishop with two chapters on Contra gentes (pp. 11–26) and De incarnatione (pp. 27–48). A further chapter focuses on Athanasius' argument with Arius and his defence of the Nicene creed (pp. 49–80). There follow chapters on Athanasius' doctrine of the incarnation (pp. 81–101), his pneumatology (pp. 103–19) and his teaching on the Christian life (pp. 120–32). The conclusion offers some thoughts on the contemporary relevance of Athanasius (pp. 133–9). The main concepts and arguments of Athanasius' theology are ably set out and explained. For Weinandy, Athanasius' thought centres on the salvific work of Christ incarnate: ‘Athanasius' entire defence of the full divinity of the Son was based upon the principle that only if the Son of God were truly divine could humankind's salvation be ensured’ (p. 121). The clearly structured and lucid exposition is easy to follow and is interspersed with well-chosen quotations; the discussion of recent scholarship is mostly relegated to the notes: Weinandy has grown unhappy with the late Cardinal Grillmeier's interpretation of Athanasius as a logos-sarx theologian (p. 46 n. 21; pp. 95f. n. 50). According to Weinandy, the core of Athanasius' Christology is the communicatio idiomatum: Athanasius insists that Christ's becoming man means that Christ came to exist as man and that thus the human actions and experiences of Christ have to be attributed also to the Logos (pp. 87–90). Weinandy is prepared to defend the character of his hero against the critical evaluations of scholars as diverse as E. Schwartz and T. D. Barnes (pp. 7–9); his view of Athanasius' life and career borders on the hagiographical (see also p. 139), and passes over such inconvenient facts as the bishop's conspiratorial contacts with the usurper Magnentius. The book is primarily targeted at students, both undergraduate and graduate. Regrettably, the bibliography (pp. 141–6) does not mention the important works of Martin Tetz, Annick Martin or Alberto Camplani. I particularly miss that most perceptive recent treatment of the Nicene creed, O. Skarsaune's ‘A neglected detail in the creed of Nicaea (325)’, Vigiliae Christianae xli (1987), 34–54.