Christian Beginnings

Title: Christian Beginnings: From Nazareth to Nicaea, AD 30-325
Author: Geza Vermes
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781846141508

From the publisher: The creation of the Christian Church is one of the most important stories in the development of the world's history, but also one of the most poorly understood.

With a forensic, brilliant re-examination of all the key surviving texts, Geza Vermes traces the evolution of the figure of Jesus from the man he was - a prophet fully recognisable as the successor to other Jewish holy men of the Old Testament - to what he came to represent: a mysterious, otherworldly being at the heart of a major new religion. As his teachings spread across the eastern Mediterranean, hammered into place by Paul, John and their successors, they were transformed in the space of three centuries into a centralised, state-backed creed worlds away from its humble origins. This is the captivating story of how a man came to be hailed as the Son consubstantial with God, and of how a revolutionary, anti-conformist Jewish sub-sect became the official state religion of the Roman Empire.

Jerusalem

Title: Jerusalem
Author: Simon Sebag Montefiore
Publisher: Orion
ISBN: 9780297852650

From the publisher: Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two peoples, the shrine of three faiths; it is the prize of empires, the site of Judgement Day and the battlefield of today's clash of civilisations. From King David to Barack Obama, from the birth of Judaism, Christianity and Islam to the Israel-Palestine conflict, this is the epic history of 3,000 years of faith, slaughter, fanaticism and coexistence.

How did this small, remote town become the Holy City, the 'centre of the world' and now the key to peace in the Middle East? In a gripping narrative, Simon Sebag Montefiore reveals this ever-changing city in its many incarnations, bringing every epoch and character blazingly to life. Jerusalem's biography is told through the wars, love affairs and revelations of the men and women - kings, empresses, prophets, poets, saints, conquerors and whores - who created, destroyed, chronicled and believed in Jerusalem. As well as the many ordinary Jerusalemites who have left their mark on the city, its cast varies from Solomon, Saladin and Suleiman the Magnificent to Cleopatra, Caligula and Churchill; from Abraham to Jesus and Muhammad; from the ancient world of Jezebel, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and Nero to the modern times of the Kaiser, Disraeli, Mark Twain, Rasputin and Lawrence of Arabia.

Drawing on new archives, current scholarship, his own family papers and a lifetime's study, Montefiore illuminates the essence of sanctity and mysticism, identity and empire in a unique story of the city that many believe will be the setting for the Apocalypse. This is how Jerusalem became Jerusalem: the only city that exists twice - in heaven and on earth.

The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Bible Lands

Title: The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Bible Lands
Author: Caroline Hull & Andrew Jotischky
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780141026879

From the publisher: Taking in such important themes as the powerful early city-states that dominated the plains, the technological developments that led to terrace farming and population growth in the highlands and the origins and influence of the Philistines, The Penguin Historical Atlas of the Bible Lands will explore the relationship between the books of the Bible and the land from which they came. Including detailed maps on topics ranging from the wanderings of Abraham to Modern Jerusalem, a comprehensive timeline comparing developments in Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor, Greece and Rome and a gazetteer of Biblical place-names.

Coverage of the familiar events of the world's greatest book is supplemented by features on the alphabet, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Zionist movement as the book's scope continues beyond the Biblical period to explore the Islamic conquests, the crusades, the British Mandate and the current struggles between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Sisters Of Sinai

Title: Sisters Of Sinai: How Two Lady Adventurers Found the Hidden Gospels
Author: Janet Soskice
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 9780099546542

From the publisher: Sisters of Sinai tells an extraordinary tale of nineteenth century exploration; how two Scottish sisters made one of the most important ancient manuscript finds of the age. Hidden in a cupboard beneath the monastic library at St Catherine’s in the Sinai desert the twins discovered what looked like a palimpsest: one text written over another. It was Agnes who recognized the obscured text for what it was – one of the earliest copies of the Gospels written in ancient Syriac. Once they had overcome the stubborn reluctance of Cambridge scholars to authenticate the find and had lead an expedition of quarrelsome academics back to Sinai to copy it, Agnes and Margaret – in middle years and neither with any university qualifications – embarked on a life of demanding scholarship and bold travel.

In this enthralling book, Janet Soskice takes the reader on an astonishing journey from the Ayreshire of the sisters’ childhood to the lost treasure trove of the Cairo genizah. We trace the footsteps of the intrepid pair as they voyage to Egypt, Sinai and beyond, Murray’s guide book in hand, coping with camels, unscrupulous dragomen, and unpredictable welcomes. We enter the excitement and mystery of the Gospel origins at a time when Christianity was under attack in Europe.Crucially this is the story of two remarkable women who, as widows, were undeterred in their spirit of adventure and who overcame insuperable odds to become world class scholars with a place in history.

Whose Bible Is It?

Title: Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures through the Ages
Author: Jaroslav Pelikan
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780141022680

From the publisher: The Bible is among the world's most influential and important books - and the most controversial. It affects not just religious beliefs but every aspect of our culture, including the very language we speak. But how did it become the book we know it to be?

In this superbly written history, Jaroslav Pelikan charts its evolution from oral tales via Hebrew texts, Greek, and Latin translations, to its many different forms today, offering a new insight into the history of the last three thousand years. This is an enduring work of scholarship and a fascinating read.

Bible

Title: Bible: The Story of the King James Version 1611-2011
Author: Gordon Campbell
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 978-0-19-955759-2

From the publisher: This is a history of the King James Version of the Bible (known in Britain as the Authorised Version) over the four hundred years from its remote beginnings to the present day.

Gordon Campbell, expert in Renaissance literatures, tells the fascinating and complex story of how this translation came to be commissioned, of who the translators were, and of how the translation was accomplished. The story does not end with the printing of that first edition, but introduces the subsequent generations who edited and interacted with the text. The present text of the King James Version differs in thousands of small details from the original edition. Campbell traces the textual history from 1611 to the establishment of the modern text by Oxford University Press in 1769.

Attitudes to the King James Version have shifted through time and territory, ranging from adulation to deprecation and attracting the attention of a wide variety of adherents. It is more widely read in America today than in any other country, and its particular history in there is given due attention.

Generously illustrated with reproductions taken from early editions, this volume helps to explain the enduring popularity of the King James Version throughout the world today.

Orientalism

Title: Orientalism
Author: Edward Said
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780141187426

From the publisher: In this highly acclaimed work, Edward Said surveys the history and nature of Western attitudes towards the East, considering Orientalism as a powerful European ideological creation – a way for writers, philosophers and colonial administrators to deal with the ‘otherness’ of Eastern culture, customs and beliefs. He traces this view through the writings of Homer, Nerval and Flaubert, Disraeli and Kipling, whose imaginative depictions have greatly contributed to the West’s romantic and exotic picture of the Orient. In his new preface, Said examines the effect of continuing Western imperialism after recent events in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq.