Book Recommendation: The Flames of Rome

With the close of the semester and a quick flight to Florida and back, I picked up a book I expected to keep my attention.  Fresh off a semester in which I studied Roman history a tad, I was interested to see how Paul L. Maier’s The Flames of Rome would tie in with what I had learned.

Maier is a professor of history at Western Michigan University. He is also a Christian, and in brief correspondence with him some years ago, I was very impressed by his kindness.  Still, I wasn’t sure if he could pull off what few others could: writing a good work of Christian fiction.

First off, this isn’t entirely fiction.  Maier did tons of research from the 1st century and built his story around hundreds of historical facts.  He calls this a “documentary novel,” and he had dozens of pages of endnotes to prove it.  I was impressed by his work.  I believe I only found one point that I questioned.  Naturally he does his best to bring known historical events together which may well not have been together in the history, but he never falsifies data.

Second, the book is enjoyable.  It is a good story, and I never felt bored.

Third, the book fills in a lot of details during an important period in New Testament history.  The book covers roughly AD 49-66, so you meet figures like Priscilla and Aquilla, Peter, Paul, Timothy, and Luke.  The storyline, however, centers around the Roman emperors Claudius and Nero. 

I recommend this book as an easy way to get a better feel for the Roman world in the formative years of the church.  I wish there were more such books.