Deakin (mathematics, Monash U.) examines the few primary documents available and from them interprets Hypatia's historical situation, but primarily focuses on her work, which was the motivation for her grisly end. The result, which includes translations of primary documents, makes it much easier to understand why the words of a fifth-century women could cause others to kill her. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)