One man questions everything in the Old Testament and arrives at no conclusions. ( )

They should replace the hotel bibles with this version, maybe put it in the john--it's great for a quick dip into old stories, ones you heard as a kid in bible school, but here with the real scoop, nothing dumbed down. Plotz is continually amazed that God could be so blood-thirsty, unjust, and down right nasty. Also, that he (Yep he's a guy) is a John Wayne style meat eater; you can cut the carbos in your sacrifices to him. You might start paying attention to his never-ending rules (food, sex, rituals) after you hear how many folks he does in for non-violent offences. ( )

David Plotz's take on his first complete reading of the Old Testament is both entertaining and thought provoking. Like myself most people probably have not read the Bible in this way and as Plotz points out we all should, to get our own impression of what guides so much in the world to this day.

From hilarity to disgust all emotions are laid out in his reading and looking at it both critically and whimsically we come face to face with what boils down to some amazing absurdities of life as we experience it. Each of us will make a choice as to how much of what is here will guide or influence our own lives. For the most part what I read in this book validates my own skepticism. Yet as much as Plotz pokes fun and holes into the work he makes one telling conclusion on his read at the end. He states that as much as he dismisses in the writings he does experience a sense of his own heritage handed down over the ages as his forefathers reading the same passages. And there you have the power of religion and its grip. ( )

Alternately amusing, insightful, and frustrating, this book by David Plotz, editor of Slate emagazine recounts his impressions as he read through the Bible for the first time, as an adult. Plotz, a non-observant Jew, read just the Old Testment, but had plenty of comments good and bad on God and the characters of the Bible. I feel many of his questions and complaints about God and the Bible could be answered by a little research on his part. ( )

Very interesting! Mr. Plotz has read the Old Testament and shares with us his perceptions of it. At times funny and irreverant, at times humble and awestruck, this is a good way to familiarize yourself with the Old Testament. ( )