Jon Balserak's study appears in a series which has the aim of providing readers with an accessible way into a new subject. He certainly achieves this objective, through a thematic analysis of Calvinist ideas that will also be of interest to those already familiar with Calvinist thought. This work does not provide a history of Calvinist Churches, or a study of Calvinist communities, and does not particularly focus on Calvin or on the era of Reformation. Balserak instead devotes most attention to the evolving and varied views of modern (and mostly Anglophone) Calvinist theologians about central aspects of their faith. These include ideas about the sovereign authority of God, divine grace, the character of humanity, sin, covenants, election and hell. Calvin's theological legacy has been continuously debated by supporters and detractors. Fractious arguments over points of doctrine and reflective engagement with urgent moral questions have been a hallmark of Calvinist intellectual culture. These discussions are framed by Calvinists’ general acceptance of the limits of what the fallen human mind can discern. This sober view of human incapacity may help to explain Calvinism's appeal and certainly assists in understanding hostility towards Calvinism and Calvinists. Balserak comments that there is also a deep sense of self-abandonment that operates at the heart of Calvinist theology. Calvin certainly wrote of the need for Christians to respond to the mysterious character of God by trusting in Christ. As Herman Bavinck, a professor of theology at Amsterdam, suggested ‘“mystery”, an attribute related principally to God's incomprehensibility, “is the life-blood of dogmatics”’ (p.65). The open discussion and disagreement among Calvinist theologians reviewed here by Balserak perhaps then helps to account for Calvinism's enduring significance.