Jörg Feuchter's book may be described briefly as an in-depth micro study (as he himself defines it on p. 5) of the adherents of two heresies, the Cathars and the Waldensians, in the environs of the southern French town if Montauban in the 1230s and 1240s. However, such a description does not do the book justice for it offers readers much more. The main theme of the book is combined with great skill with an analysis of general trends in the history of southern France and of the territory around Montauban in the thirteenth century. Feuchter discusses, with the help of a wide range of source material (ably described and analysed in chapter ii) the administrative system of the town and the people involved in it (chapters iii, vii). A deeper examination is made of related themes. The author discusses in detail both contemporary heretical movements and the attempts of the Catholic Church to deal with them as well as how this challenge was dealt with in the Montauban area (chapter iv). There is a very interesting discussion of the life and significance of the central figure in this book, Petrus Cellani, one of the most famous Dominican inquisitors of the time (chapter v). Detailed analyses of the kind of penances the inquisitor imposed upon those found guilty of heresy as well as how those penances were carried out enables the author to provide a useful corrective to previous interpretations (chapter vi). Feuchter provides edited versions of his main sources in appendices which also include maps and useful tables. This book is a skilful demonstration of how a comparison of accurate micro-historical source with existing historical knowledge can throw valuable light on macro-historical issues.