# Recommend a book on the Bible **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 9, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-on-the-bible/444612 "2008-04-09T14:47:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-on-the-bible/444612/1 "2008-04-09T14:47:11Z")
paging **Polycarp** Specifically, a book about how all the bits and pieces from various sources were put together into a single entity. (This is for my boss and her bf – so think intelligent laypeople/open-minded churchgoers, not academics or Bible-beaters.) TIA! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-on-the-bible/444612/2 "2008-04-09T15:04:01Z")
[Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, by Bart D. Ehrman](http://www.amazon.com/Misquoting-Jesus-Story-Behind-Changed/dp/0060859512/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207753134&sr=1-2) is an excellent look into the history of how the Bible came to be the way it is today. Ehrman looks at the progression of translations of the Bible through four routes to the wording used in the most famous versions. While he doesn’t focus on the internal battles over which books would comprise the bible, he does cover that in passing. And I’m sure he goes into that in more detail in one of his 50 other books on Biblical history. ---
**Author:** ![ajaye](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ajaye/32/17180_2.png) [@ajaye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ajaye)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-on-the-bible/444612/3 "2008-04-09T15:06:50Z")
Try Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (available at [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Asimovs-Guide-Bible-Isaac-Asimov/dp/0517209772/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207753174&sr=8-4)). I read it years ago in two parts; I recently bought the Omnibus (Old and New Testaments) edition and am re-reading. He gives a balanced, historical perspective to the matter. It doesn’t include recent thoughts on Bible scholarship, of course, but it’s a good place to start. AJ ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-on-the-bible/444612/4 "2008-04-09T15:07:34Z")
[Who Wrote the Bible](http://www.amazon.com/Who-Wrote-Bible-Richard-Friedman/dp/0060630353/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1207753476&sr=8-1) sounds very much like what you’re looking for, for the Old Testament. And seconding “Misquoting Jesus” for the New. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-on-the-bible/444612/5 "2008-04-09T15:16:53Z")
[Don’t Know Much about the Bible](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Dont-Know-Much-about-the-Bible/Kenneth-C-Davis/e/9780380728398) is pretty good. Lots of depth, but readable by the layman, and interesting! ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-book-on-the-bible/444612/6 "2008-04-09T17:40:40Z")
Excellent, folks, thanks. I’ll pass on the info.