Alan Jacobs is Distinguished Professor of the Humanities in the Honors Program at Baylor University. His books include Original Sin: A Cultural History.
The Book of Common Prayer, often thought of as a source of Anglican stability, has led an interesting life of many changes. Jacobs tracks them all like a shrewd detective. --Garry Wills, author of What the Gospels Meant [A] gem. --Peter J. Leithart, First Things Elegant and authoritative. --Willy Maley, Times Higher Education One could not wish for a more engaging introduction to the history of the Prayer Book. . . . [A] triumph of compression and lucidity. --David Martin, Church Times A beautifully lucid introduction to the origins and use of one of the most significant religious texts in the English-speaking world. Alan Jacobs helps us to understand not only the book but also the Christian sensibility of the whole Anglican tradition and the culture it nourished. --Dr. Rowan Williams, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge