Synopses & Reviews
Few writers in America today combine James Lee Burke's lush prose, crackling story lines, and tremendous sense of history and landscape. In Cimmaron Rose, longtime fans of the Dave Robicheaux series found that the struggles of Texas defense attorney Billy Bob Holland show Burke at his best in exploring classic American themes -- the sometimes subtle, often violent strains between the haves and the have-nots; the collision of past and present; the inequities in the criminal justice system.
Heartwood is a kind of tree that grows in layers. And as Billy Bob's grandfather once told him, you do well in life by keeping the roots in a clear stream and not letting anyone taint the water for you. But in Holland's dusty little hometown of Deaf Smith, in the hill country north of Austin, local kingpin Earl Deitrich has made a fortune running roughshod and tainting anyone who stands in his way. Billy Bob has problems with Deitrich and his shamelessly callous demeanor, but can't shake the legacy of his passion for Deitrich's' heartbreak-beautiful wife, Peggy Jean.
When Holland takes on the defense of Wilbur Pickett -- a man accused of stealing an heirloom and three hundred thousand dollars in bonds from Deitrich's office -- he finds himself up against not only Earl's power and influence, but also a past Billy Bob can't will away. A wonderfully realized novel, rich in Texas atmosphere and lore, and a dazzling portrait of the deadly consequences of self-delusion, Heartwood could only have been written by James Lee Burke, a writer in expert command of his craft.
Synopsis
This commentary and new translation of Zechariah 9-14 continues the appraoch adopted in the authors' 1987 Anchor Bible volume (25B) on Haggai and Zechariah 1-8. Authors Carol and Eric Meyers are perhaps uniquely qualified for this work because of their backgrounds in biblical archaeology and the social sciences. Employing the highest standards of pilological, literary, and historical research, they shed light on many enigmatic passages and offer an entirely new perspective on the history of Israel and its religion in the Persian period.
Whereas many scholars have viewed this point in the history of Israel as a time of deterioration of the beliefs and practices of biblical religion, the Meyerses paint a picture of an innovative and vibrant community struggling to maintain its identity within a rapidly changing world dominated by the mighty Greeks and Persians. In the face of this the author of Zechariah 9-14 makes extensive and transformative use of earlier biblical writings and of the sayings of previous prophets, and articulates a radically new view of Israel's future.
The Meyerses are the first modern commentators to see in these ancient texts the central role played by the Greco-Persian Wars in shaping the postexilic Restoration Community of Israel and its views of an expansive and glorious future. And althought Zechariah 9-14 is often regarded as the swan song of biblical prophecy, the Meyerses clearly demonstrate that the new modes of prophetic discourse found within this text helped biblical religion to meet one of the greatest challenges in its long history.