I read this for the first time when I was maybe fifteen. I was gonna tell people about this book and have everyone questioning everything in droves. I was an arrogant teenager who was loud about my extremely non-Christian beliefs, and tended to irritate or even enrage people who wanted me to believe what they did. I've never believed in Jesus and have no interest in the worldviews that accompany such. I read this book again recently, and was happy to have found it. As a devout Jewish adult with a lot more life experience, all I can think is: how did I read this book in one sitting originally? This is a dense, information-packed tone. Reading it as an adult took me over a week. A lot of it I remembered. Some of it had me raising my eyebrows in light of other information about vaguely related things: oh, those two are connected. Look at how it shows up, type thing. I've never believed the Bible was written by G-d. I've always insisted it was by people, probably different men, some of whom were good at storytelling. I'd be so curious about what an updated version of this book would look like. I was reading other books about real-life influences at the time I originally read this, and I'm pondering on starting on them again after a bit. I'm glad I got to read this again. ( )

An interesting, comprehensive and yet accessible guide to the bible. Not as much detail as I'd hoped on some topics, way too much filler on others. If you already know the book and religion, you are unlikely to learn much. But I learned some, and a few decades ago would have really learned a lot. Written in a light, but respectful manner. You will have some ideas challenged. ( )

Very interesting read. The author definitely comes from the believer's point of view and skips over a few things I'd like to see explained, but overall good. Investigating the origins of stories and the history surrounding the writers provides interesting insights. ( )

This is amazingly a fast read, and quite informative. As with all religious books written by even former Jesuit priests, take everything with a grain of salt, but enjoy. :) ( )

Overall, this is probably the best book I've read on the subject. That subject being the history and idiosyncrasy of the Bible. Although not as detailed as Friedman's "Who Wrote the Bible?" it covers the entire Bible, not just the Old Testament. A fantastic book for believers and non-believers alike as it gives you quite a bit of insight into the background of the Good Book and many of the stories you were taught incorrectly in Sunday School. ( )