A review by rheren
The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism by Bernard McGinn

5.0

I wasn't sure what to expect when I picked this up on a whim, I am casually interested in Church history, and I thought this would be dense, probably dry, but maybe interesting in an academic way. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book was put together brilliantly, perfect for an amateur like me. For one thing, it has a broad range of topics and authors, giving a very good overview of many different streams of writing. Secondly, the context given for each one was superb: it helped me immensely understand what I was reading (and when and where they came from), so that topics that could've easily been impenetrable and confusing felt fascinating and understandable. Thirdly, he kept the excerpts short, so that I wasn't intimidated by long passages that felt like they went on forever, but everything was bite-size and instructive. I didn't agree with everything, but I feel like I came away with a wealth of understanding and knowledge that I didn't have before, and I don't know how this collection could've been any better than it was.