This admirably clear and forthright account presents the development of "Christianity in Ancient Rome: The First Three Centuries" as a series of interactions with the city"s political, social and cultural environment. Green is a wise and urbane guide through fiendishly difficult territory; his commentary upon emperors, popes, and the succession of turbulent priests and disputatious theologians who helped give Christian Rome its distinctive cast is at once thoughtfully balanced and wryly opinionated.