the character of the Church of England reflects the character, history, language, monarchy and government of the English people, and that these (and other quintessentially English) institutions reflect the Church of England. The relationship is a symbiotic one which goes back through history, before the Reformation, to the dawn of Christianity itself. The various strands have become tightly interwoven over two millennia into a mesh, and a petit point mesh at that. This basic motif runs throughout the book, rather as in a symphony, as the authors explore `the state of the Church and the Church of the State'. The authors talk of Church and nation being `enmeshed' and discuss at one point how the relationship might be unravelled, as one might unravel a knitted garment. Doing this, however, is quite an easy proposition and, unless you are very clumsy, you will end up with the same number of pieces of wool used to knit the garment in the first place. Trying to unravel the relationship between Church and State in England (particularly with the added complication that England is not a state, simply part of the United Kingdom) would be more akin to taking apart a piece of needlepoint, in which the canvas and the thread can no longer be distinguished. And the whole has become greater than the sum of its parts. The book continues with a look at the future. They discuss whether lessons should be learnt from models of management, and draw some interesting parallels with