The Book of the People: How to Read the Bible

From renowned historian, biographer and novelist, A.N. Wilson, a deep personal, literary, and historical exploration of the Bible.

In The Book of the People, A. N. Wilson explores how readers and thinkers have approached the Bible, and how it might be read today. Charting his own relationship with the Bible over a lifetime of writing, Wilson argues that it remains relevant even in a largely secular society, as a philosophical work, a work of literature, and a cultural touchstone that the western world has answered to for nearly two thousand years: Martin Luther King was "reading the Bible" when he started the Civil Rights movement, and when Michelangelo painted the fresco cycles in the Sistine Chapel, he was "reading the Bible." Wilson challenges the way fundamentalists—whether believers or non-believers—have misused the Bible, either by neglecting and failing to recognize its cultural significance, or by using it as a weapon against those with whom they disagree.

Erudite, witty and accessible, The Book of the People seeks to reclaim the Good Book as our seminal work of literature, and a book for the imagination.

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From the renowned historian, biographer, and novelist A. N. Wilson comes a literary, historical, and deeply personal exploration of the Bible.

In The Book of the People, A. N. Wilson explores how readers and thinkers have approached the Bible, and how it may be read today. Charting his own relationship with the Bible over a lifetime of writing,

Wilson argues that it remains relevant, even in a largely secular society, as a philosophical treatise, a work of literature, and a cultural touchstone that the Western world has an-swered to for nearly two thousand years.

Martin Luther King was “reading the Bible” when he started the civil rights movement; when Michelangelo painted the fresco cycles in the Sistine Chapel, he too was “reading the Bible.” Wilson challenges the way fundamentalists—whether believers or nonbelievers—have misused the Bible, either by neglecting its spiritual importance and failing to recognize its cultural significance or by using it as a weapon against those with whom they disagree.

Erudite, witty, and accessible, The Book of the People seeks to reclaim the Good Book as our seminal work of literature and a vital work for the imagination. |

“An erudite, elegant, and quietly impassioned plea . . .an easy, pleasurable read.” - The Guardian

“A work of genius.” - The Times (London)

“A wide-ranging and richly stimulating inquiry into what the Bible is, what it means, how it works, and how hopelessly wrong the plodding fundamentalists of both atheist and religious persuasions are about it.” - Sunday Times (London)

“Wilson’s delightful and unexpectedly moving book is characterized by intellectual humility.” - New Statesman