Walking the Bible

A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses

By: Bruce Feiler

Narrated by: Bruce Feiler

Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

The first person ever to complete the perilous 10,000 mile journey across the inscrutable desert landscape of the Middle East, Bruce Feiler, a fifth generation Southern Jew, embarks upon a quest to reconnect with the stories of the Bible, and uncover fresh answers to profound questions. This inspiring personal odyssey through the most famous stories ever told, is at once a gripping adventure and burning spiritual quest. Accompanied by prominent Israeli archaeologist Avner Goren, Feiler travels from Mount Ararat to Mount Nebo, witnessing actual Biblical sites - from the mountain where Noah’s Arc landed to the location of the burning bush - and gathers the latest archaeological research to draw some astounding conclusions about these places and his own faith, heritage and humanity's enduring sense of wonder.

©2001 Bruce Feiler (P)2001 HarperCollinsPublishers, Inc.; 16 9

Critic Reviews

"Feiler's prose carries the narrative through. This book belongs on the shelves next to classics such as Wendy Orange's Coming Home to Jerusalem." (Publishers Weekly)
"This is a genuinely inspiring and thought-provoking travelogue and a candid disclosure of the author/narrator's own spiritual growth." (AudioFile)
"An instant classic...A pure joy to read." (Washington Post Book World)
"Evocative, descriptive, emotionally honest, and often funny." (Christian Science Monitor)
"[Feiler] is an excellent guide...He has...invested [this book] with a keen intellectual curiosity." (The New York Times)

Walking the Bible

The book is an exceptional venture. Seldom is such a vivid picture of the Biblical setting portrayed in the written word.

The Bible as Literature?

This could have been a really good travelog -- the author/narrator does a good job of describing local color as he visits various Biblical locations. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book was spoiled by the author's cavalier treatment of the Biblical text. Time and again he dismisses the Bible as "stories" or "allegories" -- even the foundational histories of his own "faith" This book would have had a broader appeal if the author had at least pretended to remain neutral by simply reading the biblical text and highlighting both modern and historical culture and geography without being so heavy-handed with his personal philosophies.

Interesting but not too insightful

I chose this book expecting a Christian perspective, but instead received a more worldy book. It comes from the perspective of a person trying to understand God. There are some interesting points raised, but not extremely insightful. It is a good read for anyone interested in the early books of the Old Testament, though, especially for people interested in the geographic history.

Pastor's Perspective

This book was outstanding. As a pastor and one who preaches from the OT, this book brought the OT alive, and gave me a great deal of insight into the narratives of OT stories. Thanks.

Thoughly Enjoyed

However personal in his feeling on the "biblical text", I have always believed there is not one person who I cannot learn something from. As a testimony to a personal journey of the spirit, I have enjoyed and found profit in the things this author has to write about. It is simply well done.

Walk away from this one

The authors nasal tone chafes as does his insistance on referring to time as BCE vs BC and refering to the 5 books as "the Bible"
I did not find the content gripping, concluding that this is but a marketing exersize and not worth my time.

Good Book, Terrible Reader

This is why authors shouldn't read their own books. Bruce write a great book, but the way he reads it is very annoying. He emphasises at the wrong times and his tones are just plain annoying at times. Overall though, the book was very interesting.

Neither Here nor There

I had the impression this would be an archeological exploration and examination of the Bible's stories. It is that, in part; but it also about the author's travels, his variou thoughts on life, long winded passages read aloud..... I simply thought the theme was washed out by his many distractions.

A Fantastic Book!

This book is absolutely great! I enjoyed the author's sense of wonderment as he walked through the history of the Bible and stood in the places we've all read about. There is also a sense of sadness to this book because of current events, but that doesn't deter from the book's underlying sense of spirituality. The only downside is Feiler's narration. A more professional reader would havve been better.

The Mythical Religion

This is pure trash. The author presents the people of the first five books of the Bible as Mythical. Nice stories that never happened. Yet, the author takes an alleged journey to the places mentioned in the first five chapters of the Bible and claims to have enjoyed his mystic journey to view the land of Mythical characters of the Bible. Perhaps this person is a Travle Agent.