Synopses & Reviews
At a time when wars are fought over scriptural interpretation, when the influence of religion on American politics has never been greater, when many Americans still believe in the Bibles literal truth, it has never been more important to get to know the Bible. Good Book is what happens when a regular guy—an average Job—actually reads the book on which his religion, his culture, and his world are based. Along the way, he grapples with the most profound theological questions: How many commandments do we actually need? Does God prefer obedience or good deeds? And the most unexpected ones: Why are so many women in the Bible prostitutes? Why does God love bald men so much? Is Samson really that stupid?
Review
“Highly entertaining.” The Jerusalem Post
Review
“Thanks to David Plotzs amazing book, I will never have to read The Bible. When can he do this for Madame Bovary?” Andy Borowitz, author of The Borowitz Report
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“A bloody good book. . . . Very funny. . . . Priceless for those of all traditions who see value in posing unanswerable questions to each other, and to God himself.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune
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“Plotz is a genius writer. He can mine Genesis for new insightsand play the book of Job for laughs. Hes the perfect companion for a romp through the Bible: charmingly confessional, a deeply penetrating reader, and at complete ease relating ancient (often obscure) narratives to our modern condition.” Franklin Foer, author of How Soccer Explains the World
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“Like the Bible itself, Good Book contains multitudesit is by turns thought-provoking, funny, enlightening and moving. In short, David Plotzs book easily lives up to its name. Trust me, Thou shalt enjoy.” A. J. Jacobs, author of The Year of Living Biblically
Review
“Irreverent. . . . Plotzs hilarious exegeses will have you laughing out loud. Who knew the Bible was such a riot?” Time Out New York
Synopsis
Good Book is a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud tour through a book most people have never read: the Bible.
Like many Jews and Christians, David Plotz had always assumed he knew what was in the Bible. He read parts of it as a child in Hebrew school, and as a teenager while attending a Christian high school. But it wasn't until he picked up a Bible at a cousin's bat mitzvah and became engrossed and horrified by a lesser-known story in Genesis that he couldn't put it down. Good Book is the irreverent, enthralling story of what happens when a regular guy actually reads the book on which his religion, his culture, and his world are based.
David Plotz is the editor of Slate. He has written for the New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Rolling Stone, The New Republic, The Washington Post, and GQ and is the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. He won the National Press Club's Hume Award for Political Reporting and has been a National Magazine Award finalist. He lives with his wife, the journalist Hanna Rosin, and their children in Washington, D.C.
"Hilarious ... It's Cliff Notes for Scripture-screenplay by Plotz, story by God ... In the end, though, the book is made by the spirit of the writer, who on page after page struggles with the divine, or the Bible's picture of the divine, even if it leaves him 'broken-hearted about God.'"
- Rich Cohen, the New York Times Book Review
--Time Out New York
About the Author
David Plotz is the editor of Slate. He has written for The New York Times Magazine, Harper's, Rolling Stone, The New Republic, The Washington Post, and GQ, and is the author of The Genius Factory: The Curious History of the Nobel Prize Sperm Bank. He won the National Press Club's Hume Award for political journalism and has been a National Magazine Award finalist. He lives with his wife, the journalist Hanna Rosin, and their children in Washington, D.C.