Anyone who is familiar with the story of early New England will know that covenant concepts were central in the self-identification and organisation of that society. John Winthrop told those who accompanied him on his 1630 errand into the wilderness that they were bound together as a community, and had also entered into a covenant with God, who would reward them if they upheld his will and punish them if they sinned themselves or tolerated the presence of sin in their City on a Hill. The settlers of the region's towns bound themselves together through written covenants. The congregational character of the churches of the region was expressed in church covenants. David Weir's new study of the phenomenon of the covenant will be of mixed value for anyone who is interested in understanding this important topic. There are minor factual errors and the interpretation is limited – he fails to develop the English and Dutch context for congregational covenants, for instance. The true value of the book is in the appendices. Appendix 1 offers ‘in tabular form a summary of all incorporated localities, legally recognised regions and all established religious institutions in New England and related regions from 1620 to 1708’ with an indication of all ‘foundational covenantal activity’ (p. 243). Appendix 2 offers a chronological typology of the local civil covenants of early New England. The fifty-page annotated bibliography and eighty-three pages of notes will likewise prove useful for scholars.