David's Politics - by Paul R Abramson (Hardcover)

About the Book

David's Politics evaluates what we can learn about politics by studying David's life as presented in the Books of Samuel and the first two chapters of 1 Kings. This book follows his life as a servant to King Saul, a rebel against Saul, and as king, and shows that he has consid...

Book Synopsis

David's Politics evaluates what we can learn about politics by studying David's life as presented in the Books of Samuel and the first two chapters of 1 Kings. This book follows his life as a servant to King Saul, a rebel against Saul, and as king, and shows that he has considerable political skill in all three stages.

Review Quotes

Abramson has provided a political scientist-eye view of the ancient politics of leadership and ambition. David is revealed as a master politician, yet over a long career one who exhibited faults of short-sightedness, miscalculation, weakness of will, and other frailties. By Abramson's reckoning, David and the Promised Land he governed were as complex and multi-faceted as the modern Middle East today.

David is the most fully described Biblical character, warts and all. Abramson does a fine job of bringing the details to a wide audience, and putting them in the context of national and regional politics. His book also reminds us that there isn't much new in the behavior of people who reach the top.

Paul Abramson continues his astute political exploration of the Bible that he began in his earlier book, Politics of the Bible (2012). This time he focuses on King David, perhaps the Hebrew Bible's most controversial and intriguing human character. David helped to consolidate the rule of the Israelite kings, but his life was an amalgam of deeds and misdeeds: he showed bravery and cunning in confronting the giant, Goliath, and mercy toward his predecessor as king, Saul, but adultery, mendacity, and murder marred his personal life. David serves as an echo, 40 centuries years ago, of charismatic political figures in the last century or two, and Abramson does an excellent job of recounting his life and analyzing his politics.

David's Politics evaluates what we can learn about politics by studying David's life as presented in the Books of Samuel through the first two chapters of 1 Kings. . . Throughout most of this account David displays remarkable political sagacity, and more can be learned studying his life than that of any other king of Israel or Judah.

About the Author

Paul R. Abramson is professor of political science at Michigan State University.