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Rating: 
Summary: a good church history supplement
Review: I've had to buy several of these charts books for my classes. This one seems to be a bit more helpful and lot less biased than the ones I've had on other topics.There are definitely theological leanings evident, but that is admitted up front and most stuff is dealt with even-handedly. Also, we're talking two thousand years of history--there is bound to be some selectivity going on. I feel Mr. Walton does a darn good job here. Let's face it, Charts do not make for riveting reading. This book will be useful as a supplement to anyone wanting to study Church History (I'm sure glad I have it). The key word is "supplement." Don't try and read this by itself unless you're trying to cure insomnia.
Rating: 
Summary: Great resource for teachers!
Review: Sure, this book has a few errors in it, and some of the descriptions lean a bit too heavily toward a Reformed conservative-evangelical perspective. Still, considering the massive amounts of information that it compresses into such small spaces, it's an excellent resource. I would especially recommend it to persons who are using _Christian History Made Easy_ (from Rose Publishing)--the two books make a perfect pair, with the book of charts providing basic information and _Christian History Made Easy_ giving the context and filling in the gaps. Buy 'em both and learn nearly everything you need to know about church history in the simplest possible formats!
Rating:
Summary: A valuable "quick resource"
Review: This book of charts is part of a series covering the Old Testament, the New Testament, Church History, Christian Doctrine, Philosophy, etc. I own several, and this one is a solid 3 1/2 stars. It provides a systematic overview of significant events of Church History in a format easily accessible by the informed layman. The volume is, however, heavily weighted in favor of the "Reformed" branch of Protestant Christianity -- and this needs to be understood for any layman or member of the clergy who might choose to use it. This being said, unlike points of philosophy or theology, history deals with facts in a more concrete fashion. Thus, while too much effort is spent, in my opinion, on a minority view within Protestantism, the presentation is historical, rather than doctrinal. The obvious bias does limits the ultimate value of this book for Catholic or Orthodox readers. Nevertheless, this would still be a good book for the "informed layman" or for a church library.
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