The format may come as a surprise to those who do not know Kreeft, a professor of philosophy with some not-particularly-obvious Catholic leanings, from previous works: He is most at home in the dialog format, and spares little for the sake of narrative. This makes the book of relatively quick read, and for some, it may be more enjoyable.

The virtue of Kreeft's work, however, lies in this very sort of simplicity. It is an ideal text for a beginning apologist to get their feet wet in discovering the core issues that separate Christianity, secular humanism, and Eastern mysticism. This, in spite of the fact that the characters themselves are not particularly colorful or true-to-life: The point is the views they represent, not the persons themselves. Kreeft could have done the same sort of dialog starring Sam Wilberforce, Bertrand Russell and Bhagwan Rajneesh; it just so happens that the common death-dates of the chosen characters makes for a seemingly providential scenario.

For a few paltry dollars, this is a comfortable and overall enjoyable introduction to some basic issues in apologetics.