Ambrose of Milan: Church and Court in a Christian ... (ISBN 0520084616)

Fascinating for its scholarship:
I enjoyed reading this book as much for its footnotes as for its lively and engaging text. McLynn has done a superb job of piecing together bits of information from many sources to provide a new interpretation of Ambrose's career, especially his relations with the imperial court. The basic argument, that Ambrose didn't win all the battles he himself presented as victories, is refreshing but not always convincing. Of necessity the author must speculate a great deal, and at times his arguments border on special pleading -- as, for example, when he insists on reading Theodosius's famous law of 391, usually interpreted as the final blow against the public practice of pagan rites, as a minor statute directed only at a few officials. All in all, though, this is a masterly work of scholarship, and bound to give the reader new insight into the life and character of a key figure in the advance of Christianity as a political force.