Timothy D. Barnes combines the techniques of critical hagiography and modern historical research to reach important and original results for the history of Christianity in the Roman Empire. "Reading any work by Timothy Barnes is an exhilarating experience. His formidable command of both sources and bibliography never clouds his lucid prose or incisive arguments. He seems to inhabit a world of infinite clarity and irrefutable certainty."Glen W. Bowersock in Journal of Ecclesiastical History 62 (2011), pp. 565-567 "[...] Barnes has written an indispensable, critical companion to early Christian martyrological and hagiographical literature."Marc Glen Bilby in Religious Studies Review 37/3 (2011), pp. 218-219 "[This] book is thus not only a valuable discussion of the issues, but a crucial resource for all students of hagiography."Michael Stuart Williams in Journal of Roman Studies 102 (2012), pp. 406-408 "Barnes masters the hagiographic, historical and epigraphical material in an impressive way, showing an encyclopedic knowledge in these fields."Bengt Alexanderson in Augustinianum 51 (2011), pp. 256-266 "[This] book deserves recommendation because of its originality, the freshness of its style, and the high level of its scholarship."Pieter W. van der Horst on http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-08-04.html