The Bible: A Biography

The prolific and accomplished Armstrong, who’s also written a noteworthy brief history of Islam for the general reader, now addresses the textual history of both Old and New Testaments. It’s a whirlwind tour through biblical studies, and because of the scope of the subject and the pace, it helps to know a bit about the book in question before you start. One thing Armstrong dismisses, right off the bat, is the idea that the scriptures were always Scripture. Her analysis of the freedom previous generations (however far removed) felt with adapting, editing, redacting and re-writing the texts to suit contemporary purposes will undoubtedly remind savvy readers of all the current uses to which these same texts are being put. Yes, you really can make the Bible say anything—and they did.