Drawing on the preserved letters of Boniface and his chosen follower Lul, saints' lives, and Frankish chronicles and annals, as well as archaeology and monastic charters, this impressive history chronicles in detail the mission of Boniface to bring Christianity to the pagans in a remote area of Germany. Clay (Durham U., the UK) brings the story to life, describing Boniface's origins in Wessex, his identity as a Saxon, and the historical context in Anglo-Saxon England before describing in equal detail the landscape and people of Hessia prior to his arrival. The ensuing history describes the mission, church councils and activities, and the details of Boniface's theology side-by-side with the mythical and concrete evidence of the Hessians' lives, their relation to their landscape, and their original religion. Landscape and the struggle over its dominance are a central theme. Winner of the 2009 Josef Leinweber Prize by the Fulda Faculty of Theology (Fulda is Boniface's monastery), this is an unusually fine study, thought-provoking and substantial. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)