false 520771 13 As the work at the heart of Christianity, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world’s most widely distributed book, translated into over two thousand languages, and the world’s best selling book, year after year. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Made up of sixty-six “books” written by various authors and divided into two testaments, its contents have changed over the centuries. The Bible has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects. In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of history’s most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity’s sacred text. She explores how scripture came to be read for information, and how, in the nineteenth century, historical criticism of the Bible caused greater fear than Darwinism. This is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism. 1980253 10 11 2007 The Bible: A Biography (Books That Changed the World) total:222|5:41|4:93|3:70|2:13|1:5| 222 818 485 78 2305564 1400103940 9781400103942 2 1 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2305564.The_Bible_A_Biography 3 3 false Fri Apr 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 16:54:53 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 17 15:36:44 -0700 2009 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Thu Dec 18 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 11:11:31 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 11:18:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 1 1 false Wed Feb 11 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 06 15:37:40 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 09:17:10 -0800 2009 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 5 1 false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 05 01:43:44 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 18:58:32 -0800 2009 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Tue Dec 09 13:26:57 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 09 13:31:11 -0800 2008
The focus seemed to be to help people understand ...more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Wed Feb 06 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 22 21:11:00 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 14:01:49 -0800 2008 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 3 1 false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 28 20:36:30 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 28 20:36:39 -0800 2007 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 12:48:46 -0800 2008 Sun Mar 02 19:10:53 -0800 2008 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Thu Dec 27 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Feb 06 22:01:34 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 21 17:13:58 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2844360 1410403785 9781410403780 1 1 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2844360.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Tue Sep 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 08:18:08 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 08:25:38 -0700 2008 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Tue Nov 11 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 13:22:34 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 13:24:53 -0800 2008 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jan 09 05:27:26 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 05:27:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Fri Nov 14 11:55:54 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 11:57:57 -0800 2008 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Apr 28 21:43:45 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 28 21:45:49 -0700 2008 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 2 1 false Sun Feb 01 19:35:52 -0800 2009 Wed May 21 08:37:18 -0700 2008 Sun Feb 01 19:35:52 -0800 2009 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 1 false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 27 12:57:14 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 14 09:30:31 -0800 2008 4292094 0802143849 9780802143846 6 3 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4292094.The_Bible_A_Biography 5 0 false Sun Nov 29 11:20:00 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 29 11:47:58 -0800 2009 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 4 0 false Mon Feb 23 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 20:36:08 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 20:46:30 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 3 0 false Tue Apr 07 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 06:35:31 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 07 11:40:18 -0700 2009 1) She's essentially taking 500+ pages of information and distilling it down into a 230 page book. I would guess one of her goals with this book was to make it very readable and non-intimidating.
2) There is little to no explanation for where she is getting...more...]]> 520771 0871139693 9780871139696 206 69 3.68 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/520771.The_Bible_A_Biography 3 0 false Mon Feb 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 00:45:07 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 02 22:24:35 -0800 2009
'The Bible: a Biography' probably deserves 2.5 stars, but I felt like rounding it up. Worth picking up for the last two chapters, the rest is rather dry. Armstrong focuse...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=520771