One of the great delights of membership of the Alcuin Club is the arrival of its annual "Collection" - of which this is the 87th volume - they range widely over Liturgical Studies and so challenge you to read and think about areas which might not always be you first preference.
The arrival of this volume was a little intimidating, at 350+ pages it looked little something of a "tome", while the stated ambition in the introduction to have written the standard text book for the study of the Eucharist added to the sense of gravitas. I doubt I would have picked this book up myself preferring something a bit more "sexy" therefore it was pleasing to find this a highly readable and engaging work.
The 'myth' of the linear development from Jewish Passovers to the Last Supper and on into the Christian Eucharist is deeply embedded in our psyche as a worshipping community, but Bradshaw and Johnson gently and skilfully in pick this myth and show the much more complex and therefore much more fansinating story.
This is written as a text book and so most of the content is drawn from the work of others, but while the work may not be original the ability to bring the full scope of 2000 years of mainstream Christian Eucharistic practice (both Western and Eastern) into a single view is a great and valuable achievement.
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