The Book of Concord contains documents which Christians from the fourth to the 16th century A.D. explained what they believed and taught on the basis of the Holy Scriptures. It includes, first, the three creeds which originated in the ancient church, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. It contains, secondly, the Reformation writings known as the Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, Luther's Small and Large Catechisms, and the Formula of Concord.

The Catechisms and the Smalcald Articles came from the pen of Martin Luther; the Augsburg Confession, its Apology, and the Treatise were written by Luther's co-worker, the scholarly Phillip Melanchthon; the Formula of Concord was given its final form chiefly by Jacob Andreae, Martin Chemnitz, and Nickolaus Selnecker.

The Kolb/Wengert edition of the Book of Concord is a wealth of scholarly material. The footnotes are exhaustive and the historical introduction outstanding. The only real blemish on this otherwise wonderful work is the annoying habit of using "gender inclusive" language. It makes the translation itself slightly suspect, and certainly does not flow as well as it could. ( )

Known by generations of Lutheran seminary students as "Tappert," this edition of the Book of Concord is a classic translation and critical edition of the Lutheran Confessions, the doctrinal standard of the Lutheran tradition since 1580. Befitting a critical edition, the prose is dense and hard to read, yet the work is first-rate and a good edition to the library of Lutheran pastors and those who wish to understand the theology of the branch of Christianity. Recommended for academic libraries, theological libraries, pastors of Christian denominations, graduate students and those with graduate degrees. ( )