Menno Simons and the New Jerusalem, by Helmut Isaak
"Much has been written about Menno Simons over the last century, and there has been major disagreement among scholars as they interpreted his life and writings. How should this dour Frisian priest and reformer be understood? What was at the heart of his concern in his voluminous writings? For all its brevity, this work seeks to provide an overall vision of that which occupied Menno Simons from the time of his conversion until his death. Isaak performs this task, not with detailed refutation of the scholars who preceded him, but rather by an extraordinarily careful attention to the writings of Menno Simons. He has written what in the book is called a spiritual biography of Menno Simons. With this book, Helmut Isaak has moved the work of recovering Menno Simons ahead, in considerable measure. Anyone working on Menno from now on will need to engage this work."
— Walter Klaassen, Professor Emeritus, Conrad Grebel University College, from the Preface
"For anyone who is interested in the formation of Mennonite theology and wishes to have a concise and thorough introduction, this work is invaluable. For anyone who wishes to understand the roots of the Mennonites and the formational role of Menno Simons in drawing disparate Anabaptist remnants together in the wake of Miinster, again, this book cannot be ignored. As Walter Klaassen rightly asserts in the preface, this book advances the historiography on Menno Simons and Mennonite theology immensely. Helmut Isaak has given us a great gift in a neat little package."
— R. Scott Spurlock, University of Aberdeen, in the Canadian Journal of History
"Helmut Isaak’s book has many qualities. It is well written, clear and persuasive. Much has been published about Menno, and, from the extensive footnotes, the reader can obtain a good idea of the conflicting views and approaches of the past and the present. Menno Simons and the New Jerusalem, marred only by the lack of an index, deserves to rank among the very best works on the subject and will be invaluable to both English- and Dutch-Speaking students of Mennonite history."
— Alastair Hamilton, The Warburg Institute, London; in Church History and Religious Culture