Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
by Lew Wallace
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 337)
Read in August, 2008
Different than I anticipated - & a pleasant surprise. It had its moments of eye glazing descriptive narrative, but for the most part kept the story going.
What surprised me was its heaviness in Christian doctrine & the story of Christ. The whole book is broken up into smaller books, & the entire first book is devoted to the story of the 3 wise men & their journey to see the infant Messiah. One of the wise men shows up later as a supporting character in Ben Hur's story. A...more
What surprised me was its heaviness in Christian doctrine & the story of Christ. The whole book is broken up into smaller books, & the entire first book is devoted to the story of the 3 wise men & their journey to see the infant Messiah. One of the wise men shows up later as a supporting character in Ben Hur's story. A...more
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Read in February, 2008
It was a slow read and heavy on the doctrine, but worth it in the end. The 19th-century writers were generally too verbose and that's why it took me a while (two months) to read this 500-plus page classic. A great story of the life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ and the power of forgiveness. Brings to reality to life in the first-century. The author had obviously visited the locales that he described or he could not have gone into such minute detail! He was also well-versed in the various ...more
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Read in July, 2004
INCREDIBLE! I found this book to be on the same par as Les Miserables. The story begins with the birth of the Christ Child and a detailed depiction of the journey of the Three Wise Men (what could have happened), and ends with the Crucifixion of Jesus. In between these two world changing events is the story of a man (Ben Hur) from a wealthy family who is deeply betrayed by a Roman friend. He ends up in the bowels of a ship as an oarsman – a grueling job. Ben Hur’s life journey is descri...more
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One of my all time favorites. If you've seen the movie don't think you know the story, it's quite different. (I watched it only after reading the book and was, of course, completely disappointed in the film adaptation). This book really expanded my understanding of the cultures and politics of the era of the Messiah even though I had read some well-known non-fiction/educational books related to the topic. That was a bonus because I was reading primarily for fun and this book didn't disappoint as...more
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Read in September, 2007
I found a copy of this classic at a library book sale last spring. Having just seen the movie, I was interested to see how the script followed the novel.
It wound up being a fast-paced, 19th Century adventure novel; not a bad read. It's a classic because of its Biblical themes and because it's stood the test of time, but the didactic narration, shallow characterizations (especially of the women) and bad dialogue did kind of remind me of Cecil B. DeMille.
It wound up being a fast-paced, 19th Century adventure novel; not a bad read. It's a classic because of its Biblical themes and because it's stood the test of time, but the didactic narration, shallow characterizations (especially of the women) and bad dialogue did kind of remind me of Cecil B. DeMille.
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Another All Time Favorite!!
We all know the movie is wonderful but we didn't know the book was the incredible inspiration! There are twists in the plot that are not in the movie which keep it moving.
Truly a story of choices, love and miracles.
ps Remember Anne of Green Gables? She got caught reading Ben Hur during Geometry class and said she wouldn't open it for a whole week to do penance...ha, ha. I love "Anne", too.
We all know the movie is wonderful but we didn't know the book was the incredible inspiration! There are twists in the plot that are not in the movie which keep it moving.
Truly a story of choices, love and miracles.
ps Remember Anne of Green Gables? She got caught reading Ben Hur during Geometry class and said she wouldn't open it for a whole week to do penance...ha, ha. I love "Anne", too.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though I had seen the classic movie plenty of times prior to reading the book. The trick is getting through the beginning where the wise men get word of Jesus' birth and journey to visit him. This can be a bit tedious, but I found it fascinating and the author gives character to eac of the wise men making for a good story. This was a "Christian" story that warmed my heart.
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Read in April, 2008
This book was so long, and started out slow, but it was a wonderful read. As a Christian, I really enjoyed the weaving of the Christ story into a story that could have really happened during his time--well, maybe. Judah's character and his strength were inspiring. His family ties and background, as well as all the main characters, just made the story so rich. It's not a quick read, but it's well worth it.
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Read in October, 2007
I'm sort of on an ancient history kick right now. With a twist of fiction. This one gets a bit wordy in places, and event descriptions can still be a bit vague because of Wallace's style. But...that same style does wonders in a few vital places to help the reader REALLY understand the characters and their subsequent actions. I was drawn into the plot and their lives.
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The actual title is "Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ." The tale weaves through the life of Ben Hur and his various encounters with Jesus. It explains how it affected him, how he thought Jesus was going to be the political Messiah instead of the spiritual one...it's the most creative treating of the story of Jesus that I've found so far. Way better than the movie.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 1974
recommended to erik by:
no onerecommends it for: anyone
Having been a religious studies major in college and being in seminary at the time, I made a point of picking up novelizations about biblical times. Not expecting much, but knowing it had been popular for almost a century, I read Lew Wallace's Ben Hur and was surprised to find that it was actually enjoyable.
The Charlton Heston movie version isn't bad either.
The Charlton Heston movie version isn't bad either.
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Read in May, 2008
This is an epic book. I have never watched the movie, so I didn't know what I was getting in to, but it was awesome. Balthazar was by far my favorite character. The words of wisdom that flowed from his mouth were inspiring. It did have the tendency to get a little wordy, but an excellent read!
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Read in September, 2007
This is one of my all-time favorite books. It appeals to some core thing inside me. Many books have impacted me--in fact, I think all books a person reads impact them, for better or worse, in at least a small way. But this one hit me in the gut. It ripped open and healed at the same time.
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This is a fun read (and MUCH better than the epic movie). It gives life to the 3 kings of the Christmas story and parallels the life of Jesus. Even if religion is not your thing, is is a fun book. Of course the hero overcomes all adversity, gets the girl and punishes the ad guy
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Read in January, 2008
The book I read is paperback and is only 239 pages. It is geared for younger readers but does have a lot of the story to it. I have never read one of his books before and since I bought these for my boys to read I thought I would read them, also. A Classic
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One of the best books I've ever read and the story behind Lew Wallace writing it is pretty cool. I highly recommend it, although I'm aware that it is very, very long and rather tedious in details, but I promise, it's worth it. It really is inspiring.
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Read in August, 2007
I was more than a little surprised that I like this. I liked the movie but the book was really good. And after watching the movie again, I was surprised at how closely it stuck to the original book. Definitely worth the reading.
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This is a really good story, with all the action/romance mix of the princess bride. There is the evil side-by-side with the good, and, of course, the ultimate good, Christ.
A very touching, heroic story, everyone should read it!
A very touching, heroic story, everyone should read it!
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Went to a BYU education week class on finding good books to read. A woman in the class recommended this one. One of her favorites. I look forward to reading it, and then watching the movie which Sally has highly recommended.
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I really loved this book! It was interesting to feel as if you experienced the life of a Jew during the time of Christ. I am especially happy with the way the Mosaic law is portrayed. an excellent read!
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