Good Book

Things I Learned When I Read Every Single Word of the Bible

By: David Plotz

Narrated by: David Plotz

Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's summary

Like many Jews and Christians, David Plotz long assumed he knew what was in the Bible. He read parts of it as a child in Hebrew school, then attended a Christian high school where he studied the Old and New Testaments. Many of the highlights stuck with him - Adam and Eve, Cain versus Abel, Jacob versus Esau, Jonah versus whale, 40 days and nights, 10 plagues and commandments, 12 tribes and apostles, Red Sea walked under, Galilee walked on, bush into fire, rock into water, water into wine.

And, of course, he absorbed from all around him other bits of the Bible - from stories he heard in churches and synagogues, in movies and on television, from his parents and teachers. 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.

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 Bible's 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? Good Book is an irreverent, enthralling journey through the world's most important work of literature.

©2009 Harper (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Here are some of the bizarre, hilarious, and disturbing things in the Good Book (i.e., the Hebrew Bible)....Deeply religious people might be offended by the book, but for the rest of us there's a laugh on every page." (Booklist)
"Thanks to David Plotz's amazing book, I will never have to read The Bible. When can he do this for Madame Bovary?" (Andy Borowitz)
"Highly entertaining." (The Jerusalem Post)

Not a bible book

I purchased this book for an additional perspective on a book that guides my life. What I received was a jewish author and self proclaimed bad jew who transitions the Bible into jokes rape and genocide. He does make an attempt at the end to bring it all together but suffering through his poor jokes with no significant content was difficult. This book is not about the Bible.

Not all that interesting

A rather smug, self centered and facile attempt to summarize part of the Old Testament from a humanistic viewpoint. The attempts a comedy don't come off well and are often pointless. Pretty much a waste of time.

Read the entire OT - and didn't learn a thing!

David Plotz is a great example of someone who is well-educated, but completely without understanding. He makes no attempt, but just gives as sarcastic a reading as is humanly possible.
Audible should just describe the book "A Jewish-born Atheist's attempt to be a smart-a##"

Not what I thought it would be...

There is plenty of mystery, wit, excitement, and humor in the Bible. David Plotz, however, manages to quash it into a boring bit of fluff with his dry sarcasm. It's clear he not only lacks any spiritual sensitivity but also lacks understanding of language itself. The Bible has been around as long as it has for a reason. I predict this book will be birdcage liner within a year or two.