In 167 BCE, Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes issued an edict against Judean religious practices. Portier-Young (Old Testament, Duke Divinity School) focuses on the consequent emergence of a new literary genre, the historical apocalypse, offering a subversive theological basis for hope. Noting that this apocalyptic consciousness influenced Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity, she presents a theoretical framework for understanding resistance, history of Hellenistic rule in Judea, and multilayered analyses of extant apocalypses written in this period: Daniel, the Apocalypse of Weeks and Book of Dreams. Topics for future study, including the implications of her work for modern and postmodern theology, are outlined. The CiP mistakenly lists the book as a paperback. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)