Walking the Bible

By: Bruce Feiler

Narrated by: Bruce Feiler

Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

One part adventure story, one part archaeological detective work, one part spiritual exploration, Walking the Bible vividly recounts an inspiring personal odyssey (by foot, jeep, rowboat, and camel) through the greatest stories ever told.

Feeling a desire to reconnect to the Bible, award-winning author Bruce Feiler set out on a perilous, 10,000-mile journey retracing the Five Books of Moses through the desert. Traveling over three continents, through five countries, and four war zones, Feiler is the first person to complete such a historic expedition. He crosses the Red Sea, climbs Mt. Sinai, and interviews Bedouin and pilgrims alike, as he attempts to answer the question: Is the Bible just an abstraction, or is it a living, breathing entity?

Both a pulse-pounding adventure and an uplifting spiritual quest, Bruce Feiler's Walking the Bible is a stunning and elevating work of courage, scholarship, and heart that revisits the inscrutable desert landscape where the world's great religions were born and uncovers fresh answers to the most profound questions of the human spirit.

©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)

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.

5 people found this helpful

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.

5 people found this helpful

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.

4 people found this helpful

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.

3 people found this helpful

Walking the Bible

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

13 people found this helpful

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.

4 people found this helpful

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.

10 people found this helpful

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.

7 people found this helpful

I felt like I was traveling with the author

The author did a great job relating his personal experiences, physical and spiritual, traveling through the lands of the pentateuch. God has made Himself alive in me for over 50 years. So this story was of significant spiritual as well as historical, geographical, and geopolitical interest. Thanks for taking us along on your trek. I'm praying you'll develop a deep personal relationship with the God of the entire Bible.

A Walk of Faith

This book was engaging and kept my attention all the way through till the end. It deepened my faith by bringing into it a better understanding of the role that culture and geography play in learning the universal truths found in the Bible.