The Book of God - by Walter Wangerin Jr (Paperback)

About the Book

Using his considerable skill as a storyteller, Walt Wangerin presents the entire Bible as a single epic story in this narrative, chronological novelization. Throughout he gives distinctive clarity to the meaning and emphases of the Bible.

Book Synopsis

Walter Wangerin, Jr. loves to tell a good story. In his latest book, "The Book of God: The Bible as a Novel," he tells the greatest story ever told.

"The Book of God" is a compelling narrative that tells a collection of "Bible" stories like a modern bestseller. But it is gripping because it is not fiction, but ages old truth. Ably using fiction techniques of characterization, Wangerin gives readers a new look at Peter and John through the eyes of Jesus. Many of the chapters focus on biblical characters from the famous, like some of the disciples, to the obscure, such as Ehud and Ahikam. Throughout the book, Wangerin is sensitive to the roll of women in the "Bible," even devoting separate chapters to Rebekah and Deborah.

"The Book of God" will not replace the Bible itself -- it encourages readers to look at the Bible in a fresh and lively new light. Using what might be called literary homiletics, Wangerin organizes his book into eight parts. Beginning with " The Ancestors" and concluding with " The Messiah, " Wangerin tells God's own story with excitement and reverence.

From the Back Cover

Here is the story of the Bible from beginning to end as you've never read it before, retold with exciting detail and passionate energy by master storyteller Walter Wangerin Jr. The Book of God reads like a fine novel, dramatizing the sweep of biblical events, making the men and women of this ancient book come alive in vivid detail and dialogue. From Abraham wandering in the desert to Jesus teaching the multitudes on a Judean hillside, this award-winning best-seller follows the biblical story in chronological order. Priests and kings, apostles and prophets, common folk and charismatic leaders -- individual stories offer glimpses into an unfolding revelation that reaches across the centuries to touch us today.

Review Quotes

'[Wangerin's] aim was to produce a clean, continuous story free of repetitions and genealogies, and to add in bits of cultural and historical background based on his own travels and scholarship. Sometimes he switches the narrational perspective so as to veiw biblical events through the eyes of minor characters. In all this he succeeds....'--Financial Times

'An immensely readable and well-organized text and may be an acceptable and more enticing alternative for some people, especially those who -- like me -- always meant to get around to reading all of the original.'--Belfast Telegraph

'Considering what he has attempted, Walt does a remarkably good job, and he writes a lot of conventional scholarship in the form of narrative.'--Manchester Evening News

'I was hooked...passages such as the account of Solomon's reign, seem to me to work exceptionally well....'--Church Times

'Powers along with great stamina for hundreds of pages....The pain of the crucifixion itself is memorably conveyed in terms of lungs, ribs, separating bones. Terse and punchy...it will be read and enjoyed.'--Time Out

'Reads like 'Gone With the Wind' (of the Holy Spirit) or 'Pride and Prejudice' (plus prophets). Wangerin has done for the biblical kings what Shakespeare did for Macbeth and Richard III....Imaginative, stimulating and fresh....Bubbles with creativity but above all is the work of a craftsman.'--Glasgow Herald

'Whether the stories are familiar from childhood or encountered here for the first time, you will be struck by their palpable power. And the sweep of the narrative, like a vast fresco, allows us to see the big picture of God's providence in a way that we rarely do in our fragmented reading of Scripture...exhilarating, but also disturbing.'--Christianity Today

About the Author

Walter Wangerin Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Starting with the renowned Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin's writing career has encompassed most every genre: fiction, essay, short story, children's story, meditation, and biblical exposition. His writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the millions. The author of over forty books, Wangerin has won the National Book Award, New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year Award, and several Gold Medallions, including best-fiction awards for both The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University.