The Book of Books - Softcover

Bragg, M.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1444705164 ISBN 13: 9781444705164

Publisher: Hachette, 2011

Synopsis

The King James Bible is both the standard scriptural text and, for centuries, the bestselling book in the English-speaking world. In this text, Melvyn Bragg reveals the political, linguistic, and religious influences the Bible has had throughout the centuries.

About this title

About the Author:

Melvyn Bragg is a writer and broadcaster. His novels includeThe Hired Man, for which he won the Time/Life Silver Pen Award,Without a City Wall, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize,The Soldier's Return,winner of the WHSmith Literary Award,A Son of WarandCrossing the Lines, both of which were longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and most recentlyGrace and Mary.He has also written several works of non-fiction, the latest beingThe Book of Booksabout the King James Bible. He lives in London and Cumbria.

Review:

'A real education about the King James Bible - Protestant, striving to be fair'. * The Tablet * It is difficult to see how this book could be bettered; Bragg's narrative is sweeping, his prose dramatic, his enthusiasm infectious. * Independent on Sunday * The two main strands of Bragg's career - intellectual mediator and bestselling popular novelist - are perfectly fused in THE BOOK OF BOOKS. It's an energetic work with enormous intellectual range that manages to turn the history of the King James Bible into a pacey adventure story. * Guardian * 'Naturally Bragg pays eloquent homage to the literary grandeur of the scriptures that shaped his own outlook. But this heartfelt and far-reaching tribute makes its special mark in tracing the links between the KJB and the revolutions in science, politics and society'. * Independent * Bragg's tribute is of value because he has an aptitude for storytelling. He is breezily readable where other studies can feel dense and recondite. His turn of phrase is dramatic. Bragg's prose reverberates with scriptural certainty. Mostly this is an affectionate book. * Henry Hitchings, Observer * Bragg is 'our most trusted intellectual interpreter'. * David Sexton, Evening Standard * 'As popular history, this is great stuff'. * Scotsman * 'vivid and accessible'. * Scotsman * 'Bragg takes a well known tale and tells it with easy eloquence'. * Scotland on Sunday * I am inclined to accept his final word: that the KJB's impact "has been immeasurable and it is not over yet". * John Cornwell, Financial Times * What gives this book its particular power, beyond Bragg's own reputation as a broadcaster, novelist and one of our foremost public intellectuals, is that he separates the importance of the King James Bible from the role of Christianity itself. Bragg tells the history of the King James with the vigour and pace of a storyteller rather than the dry precision of an academic. * Independent * 'Bragg's strengths as a novelist yield an account that is personal and imaginative, full of excitement and energy...I have never read an account of the Bible quite so compelling'. * David Crystal, The New Statesman *

About this edition

• Publisher: Hachette
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1444705164
• ISBN 13: 9781444705164
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 370