In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible [Hardcover]

In the Beginning is Alister McGrath's history of the King James Bible and is, as the subtitle explains, his exegesis of "How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture". McGrath's story begins with the development of the printing press, describes the forces (before, during, and after the Reformation) fuelling the demand for English vernacular translations of the Bible, and considers the impact of the King James Version on Western worship and politics. McGrath deftly blends an arch and charming, donnish argot with breezy, tough, brass-tacks directness. Of the ongoing process of creating new biblical translations, he writes, "It has yet to end; indeed, it will not end, until either history is brought to a close or English ceases to be a living language." Elsewhere, describing the cultural influence of the authorised version, he explains, "Without the King James Bible, there would have been no Paradise Lost, no Pilgrim's Progress, no Handel's Messiah, no Negro spirituals, and no Gettysburg address." A professor of historical theology at the University of Oxford, McGrath has written a number of popular books about Christianity (including The Christian Theology Reader, an Introduction to Christian Theology and Theology for Amateurs). In The Beginning continues his work of making complex matters of theological thought and history accessible to a wider audience. --Michael Joseph Gross

An entertaining and informed book.
Daily Telegraph

A straightforward, stirring, mercifully unsubtle account of a cultural icon we take for granted.
The Times

An entertaining and informed book. Daily Telegraph A straightforward, stirring, mercifully unsubtle account of a cultural icon we take for granted. The Times Illuminating and fascinating - how rich a past the Bible has, how little most of us know about it, and how well Alister McGrath makes all things clear. Fay Weldon --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

The King James Bible was a landmark in the history of the English language, and an inspiration to poets, dramatists, artists and politicians. The influence of this work has been incalculable. For many years, it was the only English translation of the Bible available.

This is the story of a book which has come to be recognised as a literary and religious classic. Alister McGrath, widely regarded as one of the most important Christian authors of our times, tells the extraordinary tale set against the backdrop of the tumultuous century of events which brought it into being.

Alister McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford and Principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is a leading authority on the history of Christian thought, especially in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and is the author of many studies in this field.