These are heady days for Evagrius of Pontus. Having long suffered from a reputation for excessive intellectualism and for being the source of some of the Origenist propositions condemned in 553, he has found in recent years a growing band of rehabilitators following in the venerable footsteps of Fr Gabriel Bunge. Perhaps the most significant part of this process has been the recovery of an image of Evagrius the monk and exegete. In this cogent and compelling work, Luke Dysinger builds up an account of the decisive influence of monastic practices of psalmody and prayer on Evagrius' spiritual vision and biblical commentary, most notably his Scholia on Psalms. The Scholia have not yet been finally edited, but Dysinger has been able to make use of a version prepared by M.-J. Rondeau from a Vatican manuscript. Dysinger begins with an authoritative and illuminating survey of Evagrius' life and works. He is particularly helpful on vexed questions such as the difference between primary and secondary natural contemplation and the definition of the logoi of judgement and providence. Dysinger goes on to establish the fact that psalmody formed the backbone of monastic prayer and worship in the fourth-century Egyptian desert in which Evagrius spent the greater part of his life (although the assumption that meleterefers solely to meditation upon biblical texts is unduly restrictive). The remainder of the book is dedicated to Evagrius' own understanding of the place of psalmody in the spiritual life and to psalmody as remedy, weapon and contemplative vision. In each case Evagrius' contribution is set against its wider ascetic and theological background. An appendix offers a contribution to the debate on Evagrius' Christology. Here Dysinger argues that, while scarcely orthodox even its own day, Evagrius' Christology does at least appear to stop short of explicitly defining Christ as the pre-existent (human) intellect, united to the Word – a notion condemned in the anti-Origenist anathemas of 553. The book is very well presented overall, although the Greek has been lost on pp. 137 and 210 while the Syriac typeface (and conventions of vocalisation) appear to fluctuate somewhat. In fine, however, we are presented with a portrait of Evagrius far more balanced, vivid and rooted than has often been offered in the past. This is a superb piece of work.