Louis Bouyer's 'Eucharist': an Amazon review

"You know, I bought this book probably 20 years ago. And each time I tried to tackle it, I realized it was far beyond me. Until I tried again 2 months ago, and suddenly the book seemed to come alive, and I was rewarded with 6 weeks of learning from this master's pen.

Make no mistake: this is not an easy book. The difficulty is not in the writing or style, but in the density of the writer's knowledge. But it is rewarding in bringing to life the history of the central rite of the catholic faith, the Eucharist, and showing us how that rite has developed into what we are blessed to have today.

Fr. Bouyer's primary contribution in this book is showing meticulously how our rite grew forth from the rites of the synagogue and temple in the time before the incarnation. Also invaluable is his demonstrating how the church's western rite is more likely an example of the earliest rites of the church, and that the eastern (Byzantine) rites are more likely examples of a later, more refined theology and praxis."