This book is a major intellectual biography of perhaps the most influential theologian of the twentieth century, Karl Barth. McCormack offers the first full-scale revision of the well-known theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar's seminal interpretation of Barth, which was first published in 1951.

Drawing on a wealth of material, much of it unpublished during Barth's lifetime, as well as a thorough acquaintance with the best of recent German scholarship, McCormack demonstrates that the fundamental decision that would control the whole of Barth's development--the turn to a new, critically

realistic form of theological "objectivism"--was already made during the years in which Barth was at work on his first commentary on Romans. He further argues that the most significant decisions--both material and methodological--were made in Barth's Gottingen Dogmatics of 1924/5, and not later in

the 1931 book on Anselm, as has often been alleged. This unique and important work provides not simply a fresh interpretation of Barth's development, but a new paradigm for understanding the whole of Barth's theology.

`This is an extraordinarily important volume for understanding the premier protestant theologian of the 20th century...the book is noteworthy for its thorough treatment of Barth's early break with liberalism and the developments leading up to it, and its full account of the neglected first edition of the Romans commentary, which has never been translated into English.' Russel W. Palmer, Theological Studies

In this expanded version of his Princeton Seminary dissertation.. McCormack has surely provided a benchmark for any future discussion of Barth's theological development...The importance of this formidable, richly documented study goes far beyond the cogency of the thesis, which I must leave for the Barth experts to assess...One of the most valuable features of McCormack's study is the care with which he portrays Barth's relation to his teacher Wilhelm Herrmann...marvellously rich volume.

`a magnificent book, quite the most brilliant treatment of Barth's theology and its movement towards maturity that I have ever read ... the best study of any one twentieth-century theologian that I think has been written in English. One can only marvel at the breadth of knowledge and understanding it contains, and the sheer expository skill to be able to communicate it as well as McCormack does ... what marks out McCormack's work here is the sheer effort expended in analysing that first edition, in quarrying its tortuous and arcane themes and variations, and in revealing their underlying structure. I can do nothing but commend McCormack's book to everyone who might read this review ... will be compulsory reading for all my students of modern theology ... On this evidence, one hopes that it will not be too long before Bruce McCormack begins producing his own constructive theology.' Gareth Jones, Journal of Theological Studies, 48,1 April 1997

`His study is simply the best intellectual biography of Barth now available, and it is as brilliant as it is unorthodox.' Stephen H. Webb, Wabash College, The Journal of Religion, April 1997

`This ground-breaking study intensifies a provocative controversy concerning the genesis, development, and character of Barth's theological thought ... McCormack's overall contention is pertinent and persuasive, particularly his stress on the overarching continuity and consistency in Barth's theological concerns and interests ... McCormack's main thesis is cogent and persuasive and this book is now an essential text for anyone who wishes to examine Barth's theological development from the early period of Marburg to the period of his mature thought presented in the Church Dogmatics.' Calvin Theological Journal

`Significant book ... McCormack's book is a masterful achievement. Beautifully written and well-researched, it is a seminal study of one of this century's most important religious thinkers and reads like an intellectual Baedeker of the ground-breaking cultural and political movements in Weimar Germany that shaped Barth's early theology. Alternately a book in Barth scholarship and early-twenthieth-century theology and culture, the book will appeal to specialists and general readers alike.' Theology Today

`One of the most significant studies of Barth, within the English-speaking world, to emerge for a generation...No-one who wishes to engage with Barth and with Reformed theology can afford to ignore this book which will quickly establish itself as required reading for those so interested.' Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology

`This is a delightful book which tries to solve the puzzle of Nicomachean Ethics 5.5.' The Review of Metaphysics

`It is sure to be of immense usefulness to Barth scholars, challenging and illumining them.' Religious Studies Review

`Significant book...McCormack's book is a masterful achievement. Beautifully written and well reasearched, it is a seminal study of one of this century's most important religious thinkers and reads like an intellectual Baedeker of the ground-breaking cultural and political movements in Weimar Germany that shaped Barth's early theology. Alternatively a book in Barth scholarship and early-twentieth-century theology and culture, the book will appeal to specialists and general readers alike.' Theology Today