Brown does an exceptional job investigating the historical context of the Epistles of John, and he investigates the interconnectivity of them so well. The main problem I found with Brown is his willingness to evaluate the authorship objectively. He went int great deal investigating the similarities and differences makeing an extremely compelling case that at least 1 John was written by the author of the Gospel of John only to conclude without reason or evidence that they were not written by the same person. He also show impressive but not nearly as conclusive evidence for the authorship of 2nd and 3rd John. In an effort to be critical, Brown refused to look at his own evidence objectively. This is a wonderful book, but please read it critically and other books that will explore possible alternatives for a well rounded perspective.