Scan barcode
bucketoffish's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a very interesting look at a way of life in a time and place which I didn't know very much about. I felt like the book was written with just enough detail for me to understand how the common people lived and what they did, where the important cities were and who they pledged allegiance to, how cities were laid out, and what the political and cultural struggles of the time were. I learned very interesting facts about the money system, temples, and public baths, but these details were not presented as trivia, but rather given context within the political and social structures of the world.
My only problem with the book is that the first few chapters were a little confusing on a first read, since they cover events both before and after year 1, jumping back and forth in time. Events during the Maccabean Revolt, the reign of Herod the Great, the reign of Herod Antipas, and the destruction of Jerusalem were mentioned in somewhat jumbled order. However, when I read the book a second time I had context for all of these events and was able to read and understand everything much easier.
I particularly liked the map on the cover of this edition of the book, and looked at it often while reading. The mapless edition would probably have been much more confusing.
My only problem with the book is that the first few chapters were a little confusing on a first read, since they cover events both before and after year 1, jumping back and forth in time. Events during the Maccabean Revolt, the reign of Herod the Great, the reign of Herod Antipas, and the destruction of Jerusalem were mentioned in somewhat jumbled order. However, when I read the book a second time I had context for all of these events and was able to read and understand everything much easier.
I particularly liked the map on the cover of this edition of the book, and looked at it often while reading. The mapless edition would probably have been much more confusing.
blevins's review against another edition
3.0
Shortish book by Scott Korb that looks into various elements of what it might have been like to live in Palestine in the time of Jesus. Some essays are obviously more interesting than others, but the overall message I took from the book: I would NOT want to have lived in this era! Filthy, disease ridden, short life spans, war, famine, no indoor plumbing, no air conditioning! This wasn't the easiest time to live your life to say the least. Korb likes to write footnotes. There is rarely a page without footnotes, some of which are quite long, and not every one of them would clarify what subject that was being discussed. Too many of them were Korb on some kind of tangent, which made me dread having to take my attention away from the crux of the story to the footnote. Okay.
thomcat's review against another edition
4.0
A very good breakdown of everyday life, to the extent that it can be imagined from the source materials available. Especially enjoyed the comparison of these materials to what is said in the Bible, shining new light on old verses. Epilog is particularly enjoyable.
bookwormmichelle's review
3.0
This COULD have been pretty interesting, but the author's smug tone, silly footnotes, and all-around trying-to-be-too-clever did grate after a bit. Couldn't tell the author's exact position on who Jesus really was--there were a few kind of condescending comments, but by and large, the author kept insisting the book was NOT about Jesus. Kind of odd, really, since why else would anyone write or read a book about the first century A.D.? Without that one thing, why not the third century BC or the second AD? So that was sort of odd, too.
More...