This volume of twelve essays seeks to retrieve the British Churches from the ‘shadows’ to which they have so often been consigned by many historians of the twentieth century. It also proposes a ‘broader, more integrated national picture’ which, Michael Snape argues, remains elusive in earlier studies. The achievement of a fruitful network of scholars, here playing to their strengths, it is dedicated to the memory of that conspicuous historian of British politics and the Churches, Keith Robbins, who died before completing his own article for the volume. Philip Williamson extends his work on national prayers in his examination of state piety and ‘spiritual mobilisation’ during the war, finding that grand claims could only invite later disappointments; Hannah Elias writes of ‘BBC religion’ and the work of the ecumenically lively Religions Division at the Ministry of Information at home and abroad, finding much that was expansive, inclusive and indeed, attractively latitudinarian; Keith Robbins (and Snape’s co-editor, Stuart Bell) emphasises J. H. Oldham’s Christian News-Letter series in an exploration of Christian publishing; Matthew Grimley finds himself in the formidable company of Walter Moberly, Adolph Löwe, Amy Buller and A. D. Lindsay in a discussion of Christian thought in the universities, inspecting the experimental designs of Cumberland Lodge and looking towards the post-war University of Keele; Clive Field acknowledges the ‘enormous potential’ of the Mass Observation surveys, held by the University of Sussex and now becoming boldly available in digital form; Caitriona McCartney extends the chronology of her book on Sunday Schools, and adds much of value; Stuart Bell finds English Nonconformity stoutly resistant to the claims of pacifism; Joshua Madrid observes Roman Catholic bishops reflecting on the bombing war and concludes that their Church came close to being – to use Bishop Bell’s words – the ‘state’s spiritual auxiliary’; John Broom locates that controversy in a broader discussion of ‘the morality of killing’ and begins to uncover a complex world of pain, guilt, grief and justification; Jonathan M. Lewis focuses on military chaplains and the foundation of the new Council of Christians and Jews in his discussion of Jewish-Christian relations; Peter Howson examines the diverse, complex relationships which army chaplains sought to navigate in occupied Germany in 1945. The volume achieves a nice balance between specific subjects and the detailed treatments of some, and the broader, reflective approaches favoured by others. It does much to substantiate Michael Snape’s argument that Christian culture in Britain in these significant years remained richly alive and vigorous. But the war is, inevitably, a ‘moment’ in history, and the long, later narratives of the Cold War and of accelerating secularisation lurk in the background too. Altogether, this volume yields evidence of a useful meeting of minds and shows many of the possibilities of the subject at large, extending what has already been established with profit and opening some striking new frontiers. It will surely be recognised as a solid signpost inviting future explorations.