Wilcox has written a book that is both a good read, and a useful commentary on the rise of David to power in Israel. He mirrors the decline of Saul with the rise of David, drawing out important insights into David’s future character and actions. The corrupting nature of power is demonstrated in Saul’s life, but its influence is also noted in David’s life foreshadowing some of the tragedy that lies ahead for him and his family. The book is divided into 21 chapters, each corresponding to a chapter in the Samuel narrative. There is an extra benefit for preachers in that Wilcox ends each chapter with possible contemporary applications of the message. In final ‘Concluding Reflections’, Wilcox discusses what it meant for David to be ‘a man after God’s own heart’ relating this to becoming a ‘church after God’s own heart’. Wilcox’s purpose is to read the text “realistically, attending to the literary details of the story……There has been a certain amount of reading between the lines of the text, but always with the aim of enabling the narrative to have its full dramatic impact.” (p. xvii) I think that in doing this he has produced a book well worth buying.