This biography by the young yet amazingly prolific scholar of the Reformation ably combines historical narrative and theological interpretation. McGrath refuses the reductionistic temptation to isolate one central doctrine within Calvin's thought (such as predestination), contending instead that the Reformer's humanistic sympathies eschewed such rigid systematizing. In compelling fashion he argues both that Calvin must be understood as primarily a religious thinker and that his world-affirming outlook launched an international social and economic revolution comparable only to Marxism of the 20th century. McGrath acknowledges that his subject is a private, enigmatic figure, but thanks to this study he is perhaps a little less so. A very readable book, far more balanced than William Bouwsma's more psychological profile, John Calvin: A Sixteenth Century Portrait
