It is a truism that every book has a back-story. For this volume, something like that emerges in the preface, when the author writes: “when an editor at Yale University Press asked me to consider a history of Calvinism that would cover its global dimensions I immediately accepted” (viii). On a first reading, I confess to thinking that he ought at least to have hesitated. Hart's prior work focuses on American topics, which does not inspire confidence regarding his ability to cover European materials, much less the expansion of Calvinist and Reformed traditions to Asia and elsewhere. The notes and suggestions for further reading do not suggest much work in languages other than English or with primary texts. And the simple fact is, as Hart suggests, that anyone would find the scope of the task daunting. How to organize the material, much less to write about it in a responsible way—this would give anyone pause.

In the end, Hart did find a way to order the material, as a series of chapters in the unlikely (as he puts it “accidental and unexpected” [ix]) emergence of Calvinism as a global phenomenon. Still, much of the text shows the extent to which the author stretched his abilities. The reader is confronted with a mass of details, presented very quickly and often without adequate framing—the kind of thing that makes a book less useful as an introduction, while at the same time frustrating scholars who know particular cases in more detail. As well, Hart tries to write with a light touch, which sometimes does not work very well (as in “Humanitarianism is not the first thought that comes to mind with Calvinism” [xi]).

As I say, on first reading I thought the book did not work very well. We very much need something like this, however, and so I persevered. The truth is, the book is stronger at some points than at others. Particularly when Hart gets to the material he knows best, for example in the chapter on American Fundamentalists, the writing is stronger and the story line is better. Then, too, even in the weaker sections, there is enough good material for a reader to use as a starting point for further inquiry. Finally, the theme that runs through the book—that is, the extent to which developments in Calvinist/Reformed communities (as other social phenomena) depend on political realities—is well articulated. In this sense, the author does a good service for scholars who know more about some cases, but less about others; for students to whom instructors may recommend the book as they investigate particular persons or movements; and for a general audience of interested persons.

As a case in point, consider Hart's treatment of the Reformed faith in the Swiss cities. He concludes that the “teachings and especially the new ways of conducting church life in these cities became models for Christians elsewhere, but what those Reformers could not pass on to other Protestants were the city councils that supported reform” (25). Distinctive political contexts required different approaches. Thus, in France, Poland, and the British Isles, the ruler's view of Christian faith would be critical to the success of the movement (or to its failure). In the New World, independence from the state set the tone for a “church sustained by personal choice and private finances” (136). Throughout the book, attention to social-political context provides a means by which readers may compare the fortunes of the Calvinist churches in particular settings.

As a final point, I might point to an omission in the chapter on “The Confessing Church” (272–294). Here the author attempts to assess the impact of Karl Barth on Calvinists in the United States. There are interesting discussions of the rivalry between Barth and Reinhold Niebuhr, of Barthians at Princeton Seminary, and of the influence of Barth on the Confession of 1967. At that time, the southern Presbyterian Church in the U.S. remained separate from the United Presbyterian Church USA. At Columbia Theological Seminary, Shirley Guthrie's lectures and reading courses acquainted those preparing for the ministry with Barth. As well, Barth's influence on the text of A Declaration of Faith, adopted in 1977 for use in worship and instruction. Following the union of the two churches as the Presbyterian Church USA, the 1985 General Assembly affirmed this action. As suggested earlier in these comments, Hart had plenty to do in this volume. Speaking as a Presbyterian from the South, however, it would have been nice to see this mentioned.