French scholar, mystic, and self-proclaimed prophet Postel spent many years trying to persuade others of his revelation that Jesus had reappeared on earth as a woman in order to complete the redemptive process and usher in a new age of world concord, united under the Catholic Church and the king of France. He grounded his prophecy not in the Christian faith but in the Jewish mystical tradition of Kabbalah. Revising her 1997 doctoral dissertation for the University of Manitoba, Petry (history, U. of Regina) explores the man, his thought, and his time, trying to fill in some of the neglected areas of scholarship about him and to contribute more generally to the understanding of early modern religious and intellectual history by weaving together threads not often seen together. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)