This volume seeks to present martyrdom in terms comprehensible to a world where the word conjures up images of fanaticism and murder. In order to do so, the contributors have first presented papers discussing the phenomenon of early Christian martyrdom. Among these, Stephen Fowl's close reading of Pauline witness through bodily suffering in Philippians is excellent, and Ann Astwell's discussion of the trial of Joan of Arc is well done, but the collection really gets going with two essays on early modern Europe. Brad S. Gregory brilliantly differentiates between prosecution of heresy and martyrdom during the Reformation, while William T. Cavanaugh explodes traditional narratives of the Wars of Religion, arguing that, far from preventing religious violence, the rising states of Europe transferred its purview from church-oriented societies to apparently secular governments. These sophisticated essays set up Michael Budde's probing exploration of how twentieth-century Christians could conspicuously set nationalistic agendas ahead of faith commitments. A final group of essays looks forward, consistently pitting the witness of Christian martyrdom against the tacit assumptions of much contemporary political and social theory. Admittedly, the book's great weakness is that the essays by Tripp York and Joyce Salisbury unfortunately lacked historical precision. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in theologies of martyrdom, Reformation, and early modern European history, or, most especially, those looking at religion in contemporary American politics. It is on this point that the essays not only speak of martyrdom as a “sign spoken against,” but themselves silently enact that sign, repeatedly witnessing to the problems that arise when a particular nationalism is conflated with or prioritized over the faith commitments of Christians. This book makes me wonder if the clashing discourses which first gave rise to martyrdom have changed or if they have only been blurred.