Overview
"As the work at the heart of Christianity, the Bible is the spiritual guide for one out of every three people in the world. It is also the world's most widely distributed book--it has been translated into over 2,000 languages--and the world's best-selling book, year after year. But the Bible is a complex work with a complicated and obscure history. Made up of sixty-six ""books"" written by various authors and divided into two testaments, its contents have changed over the centuries. The Bible has been transformed by translation and, through interpretation, has developed manifold meanings to various religions, denominations, and sects. In this seminal account, acclaimed historian Karen Armstrong discusses the conception, gestation, and life of history's most powerful book. Armstrong analyzes the social and political situation in which oral history turned into written scripture, how this all-pervasive scripture was collected into one work, and how it became accepted as Christianity's sacred text. She explores how scripture came to be read for information and how, in the nineteenth century, historical criticism of the Bible caused greater fear than Darwinism. The Bible is a brilliant, captivating book, crucial in an age of declining faith and rising fundamentalism."
Full Product Details
Author: Karen Armstrong ,
Bailey, Josephine
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Imprint: Tantor Audio
Volume: 7
ISBN: 9798200143863
Publication Date: 27 November 2007
Audience:
General/trade
,
General
Format: Audio
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Available To Order
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Reviews
"[Narrator Josephine] Bailey skillfully keeps the text moving, easily handling historical terms and names.-- ""AudioFile"" ""[Josephine Bailey's] in top form, lending the clipped and decidedly upper-crust accent that has served her well."" -- ""Publishers Weekly"" ""Bailey skillfully keeps the text moving, easily handling historical terms and names."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Josephine Bailey's reading is lively and provocative."" -- ""Library Journal"" ""This is one terrific little book."" -- ""Booklist"""
Author Information
Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religious affairs, including Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions and The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism. Her work has been translated into forty languages, and she has written three television documentaries. Since September 11, 2001, she has been a frequent contributor to conferences, panels, newspapers, periodicals, and other media on both sides of the Atlantic on the subject of Islam. She lives in London. Josephine Bailey's narration work has won AudioFile Earphones Awards and a prestigious Audie Award. In 2002, Publishers Weekly recognized her as Best Female Narrator. She has narrated works by Libba Bray, Marcia Willet, Charlotte Bronte, and Ken Follett. Bailey has also acted in television, film, and theater. Her appearances include television roles in Robin Hood, Sword of Freedom, and A Tale of Two Cities; film appearances in Shadow Hours, Life's a Circus, and Corridors of Blood; and leading theater roles in Betrayal, Otherwise Engaged, and Blithe Spirit. She received her training from the Corona Stage School in London and the Tracy Roberts Actors Studio in Los Angeles.
