Product Description

By the author of the international bestsellers Jesus: The Evidence and The Blood and the Shroud.Furthers the debate on this perennially fascinating subject. Clearly and concisely written, and comprising the very latest research on the subject.Attractively presented throughout.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #462439 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

About the Author
Ian Wilson graduated in Modern History from Magdalen College, Oxford, having had Alan Bennett and A.J.P. Taylor amongst his tutors. A writer and author most of his life, his books and research interests cover a diverse and varied intellectual territory; from the Turin Shroud to Shakespeare, and from after death experiences to biblical history. He now lives in Queensland, Australia.

Customer Reviews

Has its faults, but well worth buying
Ian Wilson's book is elegantly written and lavishly illustrated. It is a beautiful hardback volume that must be considered a bargain at its current price. Appreciating the inevitably contentious nature of much of what is discussed in the volume, Wilson suitably identifies himself at the outset as a 'liberal-minded convert to Roman Catholicism', and one, despite his historical training, inclined to favour the 'maximalists' over the 'minimalists', in other words to give the Bible the benefit of the doubt unless there is strong evidence of its fallibility. In his discussion of the Old Testament, Wilson sticks to this creed, and the discussion here is very well informed and pretty well balanced. Unfortunately, when dealing with the New Testament, the Roman Catholic wins out over the historian, and Wilson becomes almost evangelical. He skips over numerous problems with the NT narrative, for instance the Virgin Birth and resurrection miracles, as well as problems with the authorship and transmission of many texts. The final pages, attacking 'debunkers' of Christianity, are pure polemic unworthy of anyone calling themself an historian. This does not prevent this book being an informative read, but the conclusion may leave many readers irritated.