Abraham

A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths

By: Bruce Feiler

Narrated by: Bruce Feiler

Length: 5 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

At a moment when the world is asking, "Can the religions get along?" one figure stands out as the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. One man holds the key to our deepest fears and our possible reconciliation. Abraham.

Bruce Feiler sets out on a personal quest to better understand our common patriarch. Traveling in war zones, climbing through caves and ancient shrines, and sitting down with the world's leading religious minds, Feiler uncovers fascinating, little-known details of the man who defines faith for half the world.

Both immediate and timeless, Abraham is a powerful, universal story, the first-ever interfaith portrait of the man God chose to be his partner. Thoughtful and inspiring, it offers a rare vision of hope that will redefine what we think about our neighbors, our future, and ourselves.

©2002 Bruce Feiler (P)2002 HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.; 16 9

Critic reviews

"A winning mix of insight, passion, and historical research...provides a basis for fostering genuine communication." (Christian Science Monitor)
"This is a pure joy to read." (Publishers Weekly)
"A vivid and discerning tour through a land that reflects this epochal figure's life of exile, questioning...and faith." (Kirkus Reviews)
"Feiler's combination of journalism, commentary and self-discovery tells the reader volumes about humankind." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
"Feiler delivers a wealth of information in an accessible and entertaining format." (The New York Times Book Review)

Not what I was looking for exactly, but good none-the-less

Great writing and narrating. Was looking for something a little more historically grounded that dug into the details of Abraham's life and the culture / context of his day. This is more of a journalistic investigation on how Abraham has come to be known to the world today.

Excellent presentation!

As an academic with a PhD in Religious Studies, I must say this was written with depth, integrity and scholarly research, yet presented in an easily understandable and captivating way that depicts the essence of Abraham. We’ll done!

Very Interesting

I learned a lot about what Christianity, Judaism and Islam have in common. This is good preliminary reading for anyone who is interested in the conflict in the Middle East.

Worthwhile but wordy

Feiler takes a secular view of the Abraham story and discusses the significance to the three religions. Trouble is his thesis could be easily stated in about half the time. Also the last 45 minutes or so is a preview of his "Walking through the Bible". Nevertheless if you are interested in the topic and have nothing better to listen to this one is OK.

well done

So many historical writings tend to be quite dry. This, on the other hand, was really entertaining as well as informative.

He looks at Abraham from the perspective of each of the big three religions, traveling to the region and interviewing scholars. So, the story is not just WHO Abraham is but WHAT he means to each of these religions.

Well done.

Brotherhood of Man...Complex

Three Faiths and three different perspectives well examined.
What I enjoyed about this book is the deep insights into the man and the legends that have arisen about him over time. I loved the narration and the passion Mr Fielder has for his subjects. I will listen to this one time and again.

Passionate Reading

The great things about this book are not only the wealth of material on the place of Abraham in all three Traditions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, but also, and perhaps more so, the passion and energy of the author's quest, for, as he points out, in discovering Abraham we discover ourself.

wordy but easy listening

I agree with the reviewer form Santa Ana (that the author could have stated his case more succintly), but this is a relaxing and informative listen - a good tri-faith perspective on Abraham (who, like the rest of the Bible can't be reduced to just the words about him in the Bible text); it's also a message of hope for interfaith relations in the longer term.

I couldn't finish the print version of one of Feilor's other books because I found it a rambling read, but I think I will download the audio of the same work for listening.

Abraham is relaxing because it's kept simple, a narrative of a personal journey of discovery, and not weighed down with footnotes or detail. For that kind of listen on related topics (also good but not so relaxing), try Karen Armstrong.

Very enlightening

A all narrated and written account of the divergence of the three major world religions stemming from Abraham.

Horrible access.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

The sections where made to the chapters in the book you cant start half way through the book with this

What could Bruce Feiler have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Been able to follow him after reading half of it already

How did the narrator detract from the book?

he was good for te little I tried to listen to

Any additional comments?

Really need to fix this so it is more user friendly when starting in the middle of the book.