Reading the Coming of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England is like going to a dim-sum restaurant. Mayr-Harting brings out cart after cart delectable goodies, almost all of them enjoyable. However, there is no menu to provide organization for the cuisine, and you're left wondering just what it was that you ate.
What I mean is this. The book lacks any overall narrative, and the lack leaves those with little familiarity with Anglo-Saxon England feeling a little lost. Even a timeline as an appendix would have been helpful, showing us when St. Augustine arrived, when the King of East Anglia was converted, etc.
In fact, the lack of chronological narrative means that the book is *not* the story of the coming of Christianity to England. Rather, it is simply about organized Christianity in early England and some of the major ecclesiastical figures involved. Nevertheless, we are given highly enlightening vignettes of Anglo-Saxon England and the early Church, with brief forays into Ireland, Gaul, Spain, and elsewhere. We learn of a time when Rome was not the all-powerful center of Catholicism, when the Irish were at the forefront, and British (Roman and Celtic) Christians were fading into the sunset. Every page, and nearly ever paragraph, provides an interesting tidbit about worship, monasticism, folklore, and almost any subject one would care to think of.
Perhaps most satisfying of all is to read about Church figures who truly were "Christian", genuinely concerned about spreading the Gospel as opposed to accumulating power or triumphing in doctrinal disputes. A refreshing perspective that those more used to following events in Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria all too seldom see.
This is not a book for those who solely wish to have an overview of the conversion of Anglo-Saxon England. It is, however, full of delights for the discerning reader.