Good, but not scholarly.
599353
The goal of this book is to deconvert the Christian believer by explaining that the morals of the New Testament are no better than the morals of the Old Testament. After discussing some problems of the Bible in general, Robert M Price, moves on to the main topicthe bad morals of the New Testament.

Rather than provide a brief synopsis as I usually try to do I will just say some things about the notes I took since it has been a while since I finished it. The first concerns the forward by Valerie Tarico where she suggests that cherry picking the Bible is not only a good strategy, but an essential one. She claims, Rather than being used as an epithet, perhaps  cherry picker should be a compliment, an acknowledgment of discernment, wisdom, judgment, and responsibility. [Kindle location 185, italics are hers] She says this to support Prices use of cherry picking, but when believers do it I don't think she would be so supportive. I do agree that cherry picking is a necessity, and not just in the Bible. Cherry picking is just a fact of life; we all do.

These are some of the other notes I took. While Price claims that the New Testament shows that Jesus has time for everyone [Kindle location 668], I find that while some of his actions with people show this, it appears that Jesus has no time for his own family [Mark 3:31-35], who I would imagine need his help as much as anybody else. In a section on ability and humility [Kindle location 752], I find agreement with Price. To say I am just lucky that way misses the fact that effort and most likely motivation come from the person himself. To say otherwise, you would have to mean that you are not responsible for your bad actions as well. While talking of televangelists saying to give them money instead of caring for ones parents in their late age [Kindle location 798], Price quotes Mathew 15:4 - He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him surely die, again that would put Jesus in trouble. Actually, he did die. Price in his conclusion states: And I believe that the direction of cultural evolution is towards radial religious pluralism, then on to secularism in which religion will either wither away entirely or will become marginalized to the point of social irrelevance. [Kindle location 2425] This sounds like a Marxist prediction. In any case I am not so optimistic that this will be the course of religion in are world, unless it would be in some unforeseeable future. Also he mentions that this would not usher in a golden age, reminding us to Look at Washington! My mind screamed what about the religious right influence there. Take that away, and there might be better behavior, or not.

Overall, I found this book to be good, but not Prices best. One thing I found was that he used to many !. He probably used them so much to try to drive home his points to Christian believers; I just found them annoying. This book was not one of his scholarly works, which I like bettersome meat and potatoes so to speak. I do understand that given his intended audience this would not have been the best approach to take. Still, I did enjoy reading it.

I could recommend this book to atheists because it does support that kind of belief and might be profitable as a source for arguments with Christians if thats your cup of tea. I guess I would have to recommend it also to the Christian believer who already have questions about their beliefs. Otherwise, I cant see a firm believer even picking up the book.
3520802
Rehashes conventional wisdom in the guise of revelation.  A good survey of issues for non-linguists, but not a scholarly contribution.
4626500
Not overwhelmingly dense, but also not a quick read.
2292559
This is a good "scholarly" text about the history of the English language.  If you're interested in the history of English,  this is a good read.  However,  the book would benefit from some illustrations,  diagrams or other graphics to help convey the message and make it more interesting.
1777252
This is a scholarly and well-written book. Obviously, the author is erudite and expert. Alas, the author also seems so thoroughly modern as to be inadvertently condescending. Specifically consider the sub-title "How the Early Believers Experienced God". I would have expected a sympathetic exposition, and instead found a treatment that takes as its unspoken premise that the insights of modern antropology and cognitive neuroscience are 'right' not merely as possibility but so certainly as to allow us to explain how early believers misunderstood their experiences.  Now, to be sure, some of the commentary is fascinating, perhaps even brilliant, but for me fatally flawed by seeming to exclude the possibility that at least some of these experiences represent true miracle.  This book in my opiion fails to be open to possibility, instead seeming to insist on purely human explanations, which is certainly not "how the early believers experienced God".
1478125
I enjoy most things Hebrew and Biblical, and I really love research and study, so with that being said, I like this book--it's very informative and touches on many deep-rooted Hebrew items, but I find myself having to really think and digest the information presented. Some days, it's just too heady. I could see how people who are just learning about Hebrew and the Bible would have trouble continuing to read.
4678083
The "Series Preface" makes it a point to say that this volume has attempted to be accessible the the reader at all levels but this is simply not the case. It is rich, perhaps overflowing with theological density to such a degree that may not serve the reader well in the long run. Should you be writing a research paper or at the very least are prepared to carefully work through the chapter's sub-sections carefully and slowly and take a great deal of notes,this is a perfect volume to serve such purposes. However, attempting a straight-through read is probably not advisable. This is a systematic volume and therefore it lacks coherency from start to finish and is rather split up as so many doctrinal works often are. Even section-by-section, it is a high level of reading and I would say that the author's style of presenting an argument and making points clear is not very good. It is an intelligent volume but that doesn't excuse the lack of coherence. It's a difficult read, and I am a dual-masters student at TEDS. And when you are required to read the entire volume in a week's time and know the material, let's just say that I am not much a fan of this book. At least it will be useful for writing papers, but I can't imagine it would serve to well outside of the classroom.
186152
Great, scholarly commentary. Not exhaustive, as it covers the entire bible in one volume, but it serves it's purpose well.
4955591
This is a fairly old work and therefore doesn't necessarily provide access to modern scholarship. It doesn't take long to read. It is cheap. It gives the reader a quick look at a time which is not as well known. It would have been ok not to read it, though.
2751283
It's a great book, but I wouldn't consider it "light reading". Kind of reminded me of a text book.
1689042
I learned lots of interesting bits of information from this book, but don't expect this book to encourage your faith.  It is important to be objective in writing, but the author seems to go beyond this requirement on a few occasions by casting more doubt on the Biblical accounts than necessary.  Readers should also be aware that there is quite a bit of 'background information' with some 'manners and customs' mixed in here and there, so the title could be a bit misleading for some.
3348873
Great for primary sources but not good for straight reading. It's more like an index or extensive bibliography than a "book".
1614188
Dr. Muata Ashby, who gave us such titles as "Egyptian Yoga" has actually done pretty well in attempting to put out a book about the Ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) view of health and healing.  There are a few things which I find to rather sloppy scholarship.  It would be nice, if after all this time, he would cite the authors and actual passages of his "Ancient Egyptian Proverbs" that he quotes throughout the book.  Also the picture of the "Imhotep Pharmacy" at the temple of Aset (Isis) at Philae on page 28 is a bit over the top.  His intentions, however are good, and most anyone can get something from the book as it outlines good eating and living habits.  This however, is certainly not the end all be all when studying health and medicine of Ancient Egypt.
2566142
An engaging account of the reign of Justinian I and his queen Theodora, but if your looking for down to earth scholarship and historical objectivity, then you won't find it here.  Though the story is wonderfully,  even at times humorously told, Procopius seems to have written the work  merely to blow off steam at his employer's expense.  He describes Justinian  as a money grubbing "demon in human shape", and Theodora as not  much better.  By the end of the book you are left with the impression that  despite such accomplishments as his successful expansion of the empire, the  Justinian Code, and the church of Hagia Sofia, still one of the wonders of  the ancient world which Procopius would consider a worthless building  project, no greater pair of sinners ever walked the earth.  I will admit,  Justinian was far from sainthood, (it's been estimated a hundred million  people perished under his reign) but he certainly deserves a better hearing  than Procopius has given him.  I give the book four stars for its interest  and readability, but withold the fifth in Procopian spite.
2075129
Not for the light reader. Very academic, author loves his words.  It is not a first person or on the ground study.  This appears as more of an academic sociological and or psychological examination.  There is not one single map, drawing, picture or other visual aid to orient an uninitiated reader.  Having studied much of the related battles and maps of WWII, I could follow along, but be aware - while a decent book, there are many pitfalls.
4301224
A bit too academic for me. Good non-fiction history could read like a novel. This didn't.
1779567
In a long time, this is the first non-fiction book I have read all the way through in just two sittings. Its sole purpose, of course, is to refute the absurd claims of the highly overrated phenomenon known as the Da Vinci Code.

This book tackles most of the controversial "truths" presented by Dan Brown, and it does so with an impressive representation of scholarly sources.  However, it is such a shame that the authors could not keep a more scholarly tone throughout their presentation. It is heavily interjected with sneering remarks about Dan Brown, his sources and his fans, and it is coated with an off-putting "see, I-told-you-so" attitude.  These unprofessional interjections very much degrade an otherwise excellent attempt to present thoughtful and critical analysis of not just Brown's work, but also of the more general contemporary hunger for Catholic-bashing.  I am not Catholic (or a subscriber to any particular religion); however, the reason I picked up this book was my fatigue of modern PC claims of the Evil Church.

I recommend this book mostly too those who want an in-depth historical analysis of the specific religious claims made by Dan Brown; however, be aware that if you come to this book with an open mind, you will most likely have to filter out the acidic editorial comments to fully appreciate its thorough research.