This well-written account by a respected former missionary with CIM and then OMF is an excellent introduction to a man regarded by many as the greatest scholar in the Europe of his day. The narrative runs smoothly and offers real insights into his character and learning by many extracts from his voluminous correspondence. The reaction to him from both sides of the Reformation divide comes out from letters he received.

Here is a convincing picture of a man torn by inner conflict between the truth he knew and his desire for peace, suffering too from a painful physical affliction.

Whatever his failings, Erasmus was used by the Lord in the work of the reformation by exposure of corruption in the Church and, supremely, in his Latin and Greek translations of the New Testament. This book may well arouse the desire to get to know his work even more.

Gordon Murray