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The Book. A History of the Bible
 
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The Book. A History of the Bible (Hardcover)

by Christopher De Hamel (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Phaidon Press Ltd (1 Sep 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0714837741
  • ISBN-13: 978-0714837741
  • Product Dimensions: 24.6 x 22 x 3.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 461,989 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
  • See Complete Table of Contents

Product Description

Product Description
A narrative account of the Bible as a book and as an artefact, from the earliest fragments found in the Egyptian desert to the plethora of modern editions and translations. The author seeks to write as an impartial historian and bases his account on documentary evidence, focusing on the manufacture, translation and distribution of Bibles in an extraordinary variety of forms throughout nearly two millennia. The first chapter deals with the achievement of Saint Jerome, whose Latin translation - the Vulgate - first gave the Bible the definitive form it has retained ever since. Chapter Two then looks back to the separate history of the Bible in its original languages of Hebrew and Greek, after which the narrative returns to document the gradual triumph of the Latin Vulgate, the magnificent giant Bibles of the early Middle Ages, the Bible with its monastic commentaries, the crucial development of the portable Bible in the 13th century, and the vogue for splendid Bible picture books. Chapter Seven tells the story of the famous Wycliffite English Bibles, once condemned as heretical and now highly prized. The invention of printing was a turning point, and a whole chapter is devoted to Gutenberg and the first printed book - the celebrated 42-line Bible. The narrative then leads on to the humanist scholars, Martin Luther and the Reformation, the Lutheran Bible and the Protestant-led wave of translations of the Bible into other modern languages, the development of a book publishing industry, and the extraordinary efforts of missionary societies to translate the Bible into every known language in the world. The last chapter takes the story right back to the beginning, and chronicles the discoveries by modern scholars and archaeologists - principally papyrus fragments from the Egyptian desert and the Dead Sea Scrolls - that have dramatically increased our knowledge of the origins of both Old and New Testaments.

About the Author
Christopher de Hamel took a doctorate in palaeography at Oxford University, and from 1975 to 2000 was head of the Western Manuscripts department at Sotheby's, London. He is now Fellow Librarian of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. His History of Illuminated Manuscripts, published by Phaidon (2nd edition, 1994), has become a standard work. Other books include Glossed Books of the Bible (1991) and Scribes and Illuminators (1992).

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The Book. A History of the Bible 4.5 out of 5 stars (2)
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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but could have gone back further, 5 Aug 2004
By Mr. R. Horberry - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Pleasingly non-theological account of the development of the bible (and therefore books and publishing in general). My only criticisms are the over-long analysis of obscure middle ages manuscripts and the fact it kicks off with St Jerome in the late 4th century. I would have liked a bit more on the origins of the books themselves, although to be fair the final chapter does touch on this. Most interesting and readable, even for atheists.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The history of an art-form and cultural artefact, 29 Nov 2008
By Jeremy Bevan (West Midlands, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Partly a history of the art-form that is the biblical manuscript, this is also a well-told history of the development of the Bible's influence around the world as a cultural artefact. Coffee-table book sized, and wonderfully illustrated throughout, it's also a highly readable work by an expert in the field. De Hamel conveys both fascinating detail and something of the broad sweep of intellectual fashions that have shaped how we view the Bible and, latterly, have informed our search for its textual origins. Highly engaging.
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