Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ [Paperback]

Lew Wallace (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2007 | ISBN-10: 1934648213 | ISBN-13: 978-1934648216

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880) by Lew Wallace is one of the most popular and beloved 19th century American novels. This faithful New Testament tale combines the events of the life of Jesus with grand historical spectacle in the exciting story of Judah of the House of Hur, a man who finds extraordinary redemption for himself and his family.

A classic of faith, fortitude, and inspiration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 620 pages
• Publisher: Norilana Books (October 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934648213
• ISBN-13: 978-1934648216
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars BEN-HUR by Lew Wallace, October 12, 2010

By 

thepaxdomini "The Book Review" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Paperback)

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is an 1880 historical novel by Lew Wallace. In the time of Christ, Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur is sent to the Roman galleys for an accidental "assassination attempt" on the Roman governor. The book chronicles his attempts to free himself and locate his mother and sister; along the way he has various encounters with biblical characters, including Jesus himself.

Ben-Hur is full of rich historical detail. Wallace certainly did his research, although his blond-haired and blue-eyed Mary and Jesus are rather egregious and indefensible. The works and miracles that Christ does, and their effects on the characters, give the book a significant emotional weight. Beyond that, Wallace's characters love to sit around and discuss theology in detail, and there's quite a bit of solid Christology to be found here.

The story in Ben-Hur is fantastic, but Wallace has written a bloated, flawed novel. Characters and dialogue are flat, the plot often advances by means of convenient developments, and the book makes great jumps through time to place Ben-Hur at so many key events in the life of Christ, which causes his own actions not to make a lot of sense. But worst of all, the novel is all over the place. Wallace is rambling and verbose, and there are too many half-baked story elements: The love triangle, such as it is, adds nothing to the story. Messala is not developed as a friend or as an enemy. A 65-page introduction that does nothing other than relate the Nativity story is unnecessary.

It is worth mentioning William Wyler's 1959 MGM film that starred Charlton Heston and won 11 Oscars; there have been other films, but it is through that movie that the Ben-Hur story is known to the most people now. The movie distills the overlong, wandering story down to its key elements, developing them to a fulfilling degree, and the story is all the more powerful for it. It's a great story, and the film, which is one of the greatest ever, in any genre, takes full advantage of it.

The novel Ben-Hur is a powerful, moving story not at all well told. It pains me to say this, but the movie is better. Considerably.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must read for Junior High Students, September 14, 2009

By 

J. Mayer "home school mom" (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Paperback)

I believe this is a lost treasure. All students should be exposed to this well written literature book.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ben Hurrying Up to read it., May 4, 2010

By 

Todd A. Scheideman - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (Paperback)

I am reading this book right now. I loved the movie and find the book to be more in depth and historical. Lew Wallace is a talented writer and enjoyable to read.