Book review: The Historical David: The Real Life of an Invented Hero

by Joel Baden

★★★★★

This book hooked me from the beginning. Definitely a fun read, especially during the beginning of David’s career.

Uncovering the historical David is no small challenge—more difficult than pinpointing the historical Jesus, I believe—but Baden makes a valiant effort. His research is fraught with speculation, and he certainly has no qualms about taking a controversial stand, but who knows? He may be right more often than he is wrong. The point is that we simply cannot know; we c...