Walking the Bible : A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0749922842 ISBN 13: 9780749922849

Publisher: Piatkus Books, 1884

Synopsis

Is the Bible just an abstraction or a real living entity? This volume aims to answer this question. Part adventure story, part archaeological detective work, part spiritual exploration, this is the account of Bruce Feiler's perilous 10,000 mile journey across the Middle East in search of the roots of the Bible. The book: traces Biblical events from the landing of Noah's ark on Mount Ararat in Turkey to the site of the legendary burning bush overlooking the promised land; gathers the latest archaeological research about each site; follows passages of the Bible in their actual settings; and explores how geography affects the larger narrative of the Old Testament.

About this title

Review:

Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses is the story of Bruce Feiler's 10,000-mile trek from Mount Ararat to Mount Nebo, undertaken for reasons he did not understand at the outset and accompanied by a companion who was very nearly a stranger. In the book's first chapter, in characteristically understated style, Feiler suggests a viable parallel to his journey:

Abraham was not originally the man he became. He was not an Israelite, he was not a Jew. He was not even a believer in God--at least initially. He was a traveler, called by some voice not entirely clear that said: Go, head to this land, walk along this route, and trust what you will find.

Feiler, a fifth-generation American Jew from the South, had felt no particular attachment to the Holy Land. Yet during his journey, Feiler's previously abstract faith grew more grounded. ("I began to feel a certain pull from the landscape.... It was a feeling of gravity. A feeling that I wanted to take off all my clothes and lie facedown in the soil.") Feiler's attentiveness, intelligence, and adventurousness enliven every page of this book. And the lessons he learned about the relationship between place and the spirit will be useful for readers of every religious tradition that finds its origins in the Bible. --Michael Joseph Gross

About the Author:

Bruce Feiler is the award-winning author of four previous books. He has written for The New Yorker, Washington Post, and Conde Nast Traveller. A native of Savannah, Georgia, he lives in New York City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Piatkus Books
• Publication date: 1884
• ISBN 10: 0749922842
• ISBN 13: 9780749922849
• Binding: Paperback