The Bible

The stories of the Old and New Testaments come alive when we walk in the footsteps of the people of the Bible.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Reviewers have said this novel is what the Bible might have been like if it had been written by women. This retelling of Biblical stories conjures up the ancient world and gives voices to the often silent women of biblical times.

Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler

A combination travelogue, history book and pilgrimage, this book tracks the author’s 10,000-mile trek from Mt. Ararat to Mt. Nebo as he reads the Biblical stories of the first five books of the Old Testament in the places they are thought to have happened, accompanied by a guide/mentor with an encyclopedic knowledge of prehistoric and Biblical archaeology.

Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler

A biography of Abraham, the one man who figures prominently in Islam, Judaism and Christianity, this is also the author’s journey to understand both the connections between these three religions and also the roots of the tensions in the Middle East.

The Source by James Michener

This mammoth book of historical fiction uses a fictitious archaeological dig in a fictitious town in Israel to reveal the stories of generations of local inhabitants and the origins of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The Rock: A Tale of Seventh Century Jerusalem by Kanan Makiya

The 7th century narrator of this historical novel weaves together the stories, legends and beliefs that define the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, examining the commonalities of the world’s three monotheistic religions and what the Rock symbolizes to each.

Exodus by Leon Uris

Covering the period of 1946-1951, this novel focuses on the creation and early years of the modern state of Israel, including stories of the history of the Jewish people and the early Zionists.

O Jerusalem by Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre

Reading like an historical novel in places, this carefully researched investigative report of the history of Jerusalem is based on hundreds of interviews with those who lived through the 1948 war between the Jewish and Arab inhabitants of Jerusalem.

The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan

Using the tools of reporting and research, the author presents the human dimension of the Arab-Israeli conflict by focusing on the true story of the four-decades-long intertwined lives of a Palestinian refugee and a Jewish settler.

Murder on a Kibbutz: A Communal Case by Batya Gur

In this mystery/thriller, while working to solve a murder within the complex, closed society of a kibbutz, an Israeli investigator gains a strong dose of the history of this quintessential Israeli institution.