In this adaptation of his doctoral thesis from Princeton Theological Seminary, John A. Maxfield takes the reader on a guided tour of Luther's lectures on Genesis spanning the last ten years of the great Reformer's life. Maxfield brings us into the lecture hall at Wittenberg and distills Luther's teaching to show how he sought to instil a solidly evangelical identity into the next generation of German pastors. Luther found Genesis to be a rich source for both spiritual formation and Christian doctrine. He focused on the text of the Scriptures, engaged his students and emphasised the present application of the principles on display in the lives of the patriarchs, whom he viewed as models for Christian living. Luther interpreted the Old Testament in light of the New, and, Maxfield argues, his interpretive focus was more on the present ‘affective interpretation’ for the life of the believer, than on a Christological typological focus. Maxfield makes a valid observation, but in the course of making his point distinct, he understates Luther's passion for Christology. Nevertheless, Maxfield aptly brings to the fore Luther's view of evangelical holiness, in contrast to previous Roman Catholic conceptions. Rather than celebrating a monastic separation from the world, Luther stressed that righteous living was to be found in engagement with the world, especially in such areas as marriage, temporal government and the Church. Of course, however, these were not the means of salvation. One was saved through faith alone. Next, Maxfield shows how Luther went back into history to redefine ‘the true Church’ in such a way as to give the evangelical movement legitimacy. Instead of positing Christ's Church as opposed to the world, Luther spoke about two Churches, going back to the beginning: the Church of Christ, and the Church of the devil (Abel belonged to one, and Cain to the other; the evangelical Churches belonged to one, and the Roman Catholic Church belonged to the other). Moving from past to future, Maxfield proceeds to an exposition of Luther's eschatological views, as seen in the Genesis lectures. Luther resisted the urge to calculate the date of the End, and instead advocated the continuously-eschatological role of the preaching of the Law and the Gospel. This preaching was part of God's means of separating the wheat from the chaff. Christians were to be persistent, and they were to be a blessing to both Church and world. They should know that evil will grow along with the kingdom of God, until one day Jesus will suddenly return and set all things right. Overall, Maxfield gives a coherent, scholarly, generally-focused presentation of Luther's methods, theology and pastoral-didactic intent in his lectures on Genesis. An enjoyable and edifying read, Maxfield's book is a welcome addition to the field of Reformation scholarship.