Jean-Pierre IsboutsCritiques

great artwork

If you are looking for a beautiful and informative coffee table book for your history buff, look no further than National Geographic's Ultimate Visual History of the World. Filled with gorgeous pictures, fascinating archaeological finds, maps, and more and accompanied by easily understandable text, the book spans from prehistory to today showing human history throughout the ages. It is broken into different ages: bronze, iron, discovery, modern, etc. Each section showcases the major advancements of the era, the changes in the human condition (rise/fall of cities, inventions, war, cultures, faith, and so on), and just how these things remade, and continue to remake, our world.

The text is illuminated and enhanced by the chosen images. Much of the information will be on things that interested readers learned in a world history class but if it's been a while since they've been in a class, it is a concise reminder of previous learning. I thoroughly enjoyed the early chapters for refreshing my memory on the things I learned in geology and history of life classes in college many years ago. And it is fascinating to see so clearly the way that our history, the history of the entire world, all the people on all of the continents, is one large tapestry woven together rather than disparate civilizations in a vaccuum. The book pulls everything into one piece, rather than examining it as seperate occurrences, so that it is clear how all of history has built upon that which came before. There is, of course a lot toward the end of the book, given that we know our own recent past the best, and it remains to be seen how what we are experiencing today will change the world, but it is important to see ourselves in the continuum of humankind's history as this book clearly shows. It's a beautiful and ambitious book that can and will keep the reader immersed for hours.½

AJA-5

EDIÇÃO ESPECIAL "A ARQUEOLOGIA DA BÍBLIA, PARTE 2"
Os leitores pediram-na com insistência. Aqui está a segunda parte do volume "A Arqueologia da Bíblia", hoje publicada. Concentramo-nos nesta revista no Novo Testamento e nos contributos produzidos por cerca de um século de prática arqueológica na Terra Santa, clarificando velhas referências, certificando alguns locais como palcos de episódios bíblicos e produzindo informação que permite ler, com outros olhos, os textos sagrados dos cristãos.
A linguística oferece também interpretações complementares, contrariando traduções menos rigorosas dos textos sagrados.
E a história, claro, desmente e valida acontecimentos dos primórdios do cristianismo, por vezes revestidos de um manto ideológico que esconde as construções culturais da época.

EDIÇÃO ESPECIAL ARQUEOLOGIA DA BÍBLIA
As histórias narradas pela Bíblia surgiram no enquadramento das grandes civilizações do passado. A Mesopotâmia, o Egipto, a Assíria, a Babilónia, a Pérsia, a Grécia e a Roma Imperial contribuíram para lhes dar forma e explicam muitas das suas características, porque nenhuma criação cultural ou religiosa vive no vazio. Daí a importância da arqueologia para nos aproximar dos relatos bíblicos, sobre os quais as descobertas não cessam. Os últimos anos têm sido particularmente notáveis. O objectivo desta edição (e da Parte 2) é proporcionar aos leitores que se interessam pelo tema, ou estudam a história de Israel Antigo, uma visão completa das descobertas arqueológicas mais importantes relacionadas com as histórias da Bíblia. Com base em vários anos de investigação, tanto em sítios do Próximo Oriente como em museus de Israel, Turquia, Rússia, Itália, Alemanha, Reino Unido, França e Estados Unidos da América, esta edição especial oferece uma panorâmica geral dos testemunhos materiais que podem ilustrar os factos narrados no Antigo e no Novo Testamento.
Boas leituras!

EDIÇÃO ESPECIAL "JESUS E AS ORIGENS DO CRISTIANISMO"
Como começou o cristianismo e como se impôs aos primeiros obstáculos? Em 128 páginas de uma nova Edição Especial, analisamos as origens do cristianismo e a sua progressão histórica – desde as primeiras propostas empíricas às tentativas de consolidação da mensagem e respectivos rituais. Focamo-nos também nas idades áureas da Igreja e nos períodos de ruptura e tensão. Em Mértola, o historiador Virgílio Lopes dá igualmente conta, em 16 páginas, de um curioso momento de miscigenação religiosa no limite ocidental do mundo conhecido na Antiguidade.

Although I got this book several years ago, the lock-up because of the COVID 19 virus finally gave me the uninterrupted time to read it. It is sad that it took a virus to get me to read it but I am very happy I finally did. I don't have the ability to fully describe this work. It is simply outstanding. It's hard to read because it is such a large book with very heavy, glossy paper. The pictures of the artwork alone are magnificent. In addition, the narrative is marvelous.

Update: June 7, 2017- The author was kind enough to send me a copy of the finished book so that I could view the pictures in the final copy. My original review was of the Advance Reading Copy. Pictures in the final book are much improved. While many are still black and white, there is a section in the middle of color pictures of the important pieces discussed in the text. Additionally, the black and white photos are much clearer and shaper. This greatly improves the reading experience.
I received a copy of this book for free. This book looks at Leonardo's early work in Florence as a student/apprentice and then chronicles his time in Milan until the painting of The Last Supper fresco. My biggest issue with the book the pictures. The small black and white photos make it hard to see details discussed in the text. The last three chapters are the best part of the book. Here he author analyzes how the composition of The Last Supper was revolutionary at the time.

A very nice review of Christian beginning and expansion with excellent maps and a good accompanying text. I bought this at a local supermarket, so it is perhaps not available at regular bookstores. This pays a lot of attention to the art and architecture nd helps one to understand how places around the globe became Christian and then split into various branches.½

Interesting possibilities on what the young Jesus may have been up to during those "lost" years. A lot of meaty political and social history of the time and place that certainly helps flesh out the context for the words we read in the Gospel, even if our speculation about the individual life of Jesus can only ever amount to just that...speculation. Still, it's a story and words that have helped shape history...worth speculating about for me.

Spirited, divisive, ardent, doubting, faithful, flawed, devout--who’s who in the Bible

The beautiful artwork on every page of this substantial, coffee table size book makes it a joy to pore over, and I’ve spent a lot of time just doing that, but even without all the breathtaking illustrations the text alone would make this book a pleasure to read. For anyone interested in the Bible it’s a wonderful, well organised reference with hundreds of entries that cover its key events and precepts by telling the stories of people from the Old Testament to the New Testament, treating each story with respect and noting historical evidence when there is some.

Who’s Who in the Bible has been divided into three Old Testament and two New Testament chapters that create the narrative flow and magnetic pull of a grand epic novel and can be read straight through, which is what I couldn’t resist doing though that’s not how I expected to use the book, but it would also be a simple thing to look up people individually by their entries if someone in particular interests you. Spirited, divisive, ardent, doubting, faithful, flawed, and devout, the people in these stories are captivating and fully human. Besides the artwork and the people entries there are descriptive chapter introductions, detailed maps, helpful family trees, and fascinating photographs of archaeological objects from biblical times. Can you tell I love the book? I do.

[In the Footsteps of Jesus: A Chronicle of His Life and the Origins of Christiani…] by [[Jean-Pierre Isbouts]] This was an ok picture book of Jesus' life and surroundings in ancient Judea. I felt the author tried overhard not to be overly Christian. It contains useful information and great photographs of Judea, Samaria, and Galilee where Jesus conducted His ministry.

Interesting possibilities on what the young Jesus may have been up to during those "lost" years. A lot of meaty political and social history of the time and place that certainly helps flesh out the context for the words we read in the Gospel, even if our speculation about the individual life of Jesus can only ever amount to just that...speculation. Still, it's a story and words that have helped shape history...worth speculating about for me.

Interesting possibilities on what the young Jesus may have been up to during those "lost" years. A lot of meaty political and social history of the time and place that certainly helps flesh out the context for the words we read in the Gospel, even if our speculation about the individual life of Jesus can only ever amount to just that...speculation. Still, it's a story and words that have helped shape history...worth speculating about for me.

Interesting possibilities on what the young Jesus may have been up to during those "lost" years. A lot of meaty political and social history of the time and place that certainly helps flesh out the context for the words we read in the Gospel, even if our speculation about the individual life of Jesus can only ever amount to just that...speculation. Still, it's a story and words that have helped shape history...worth speculating about for me.