Customer Reviews

Eyewitness: Bible Lands (Eyewitness Books)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While this book has nice pictures and very interesting contextual information I would not recommend it to parents who teach their children that the Bible is God's inerrant word. It consistently conveys a skeptical approach to the Bible and conveys no particular interest in or respect for the God of the Bible.
In a caption it says of Herod's slaughter of the infants in Bethlehem "In reality the story is a myth." Well generally speaking massacres don't have a high rate of official documentation - it just doesn't make for good PR. I guess a good political hush job makes this event merely a myth if the only surviving record source is the Bible (a very good document by any standard). While this fits the academic definition of "myth" the clear implication is that the event did not occur.
The book also makes other declarative statements and explanations that I have never read in reputable Christian sources.

Bible Lands is a visual tour to the Holy Land. The geography, the history and the ancient civilizations of its people are revealed. Stunning real-life photographs are what make the eyewitness books so great. There are pictures of swords, statues, ships and the land.

What did Solomon's temple look like? Where the earliest human statues ever found? What does Assyrian armor look like? How did the Phoenicians dye their clothes? How did Abraham live and what did people eat in Old Testament times?

You will also discover who the Israelites were and how the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The Holy Land is a region which is quite diverse in its terrain. There is a map on page 6 and 7 which shows the entire area being discussed. Do you wonder what the Tower of Babel looked like. Well, a picture of a ziggurat is about as close as you will get to the real thing. Each picture has text which explains the items. I would have enjoyed seeing larger pictures of the artwork and smaller pictures of say a watermelon.

I loved the picture of the illuminated manuscript which is from the medieval period and it is a page from a decorated Latin Bible. An interesting two pages shows how modern archeology began in the Holy Land in 1865 and all the tools used are displayed.

Very educational and fun to see how people in the past lived.

~The Rebecca Review

D.K.'s The Bible Land is a high quality "must have" reference book for home, church, school, libraries. The carefully chosen exquisite artifacts throughout the book are a "must see" for every ancient civilization buff, those who study religion, and on hand as a BIBLE companion. All of which is simply explained in the language of the "common man."
Here are a few outstanding highlights:

Page six photographs of The Holy land incompasses wonderful explanations of the geographical area. It would have been more advantageous if a different color for the names of countries mentioned, had been utilized so a child would not have to refer elsewhere to note the countries, cities, rivers. (i.e. page 52 for The Indus River; The Jordan River, Page 56. Furthermore, the caption on page 54 states: "Where the Roman Writ ran", which the modern child would not understand.)
An excellent photograph of an ostuary may be found on page 9, but one must dig deeper into the book (page 55 "Roman Burials"-- though, "decaying process" might upset a young reader) to find more information regarding their usage.If one did not know anything about ostuaries to begin with, the wording beneath the caption would have one wonder how a body would fit into the small container!!!
The trek of Abraham (Ur) brings life to the story with a map depicting "Patriarch's path", found on page ten. A number of librarians with whom I work, never heard of a ziggurat and when I was explaining it to them I used Google Images, but on page 10 of this book, one will find an excellent illustration of a ziggurat. On page eleven, one will find an interesting artifact, a "yogurt maker!" Page twelve recognizes the question of slave labor or devotion in the construction of Ramses II's great building projects. The page following indicates "slipper-shaped coffins with lids "grotesquely modeled human features" of the Philistines (which I wish the word "grotesquely" was eliminated, as it is not nice to indicate this cultural difference in this light.) At this point in the text, it indicates the ongoing "battle": "Parting of the waters-- Although archeology cannot confirm the story of the Hebrew exodus through the waters of the Red Sea, it is not unlikely that a group of "hapiru' left Egypt during the reign of Ramses II and found their way to the Judean hill country." There is an excellent cross-section of a "tell" and the explanation of "What does it tell us?... complicated sequences of occupational phases." The term of "glacis" is introduced within.The chapter "The Israelites" explains the "split" in simple terms, which is excellent; and on the following page is a very good illustration debating "Sphinxes or Cherubim?" The crafting of glassblowing stated: "Shaping up-- Glassblowing had not been invented in Phoenician times, so vessels like this were made by molding the glass paste around a clay core"; "Brittle but beautiful...A paste of finely ground sand mixed with soda was used, and various pigments were used." The later part I was aware of, but is a good explanation for those who are not aware of: "When fired at a high temperature the mixture fused to form colored glass" , all of which was quite revealing to say the least. In the section "Gods and goddesses", this is an excellent compendium of "who's who!" "Food and crops" includes two species of wheat: emmer and einkorn, as well as barley, and cereals native of the Eastern Mediterranean region. There are photographs of "winnowing" (and a discussion of the "threshing process"); and a Iron Age mortar and pestle. The Fishing information includes "man made lakes or 'vivaria'". "Plates to eat above-- Circular flaps of unleavened bread were made, as they still are today, by slapping the dough against the inside wall of a simple cylindrical oven, called a tannur. Such bread flaps could be used as edible platters," may be found on page 31, and we think it novel in today's restaurants to order the edible taco bowl platter! Page 33 is helpful because every so often I (am a librarian) asked the difference between "one humped and two humped camels", and this suffices. --- The Shroud of Turin has through scholarship and modern dating methodologies has been deemed a hoax, and probably not once and for all, lest it changes, on page 56 it is indicated it is in question. Wherever Herod was mentioned I was waiting for equal thought with regard to "the slaughter of the innocents."... sure enough, there it was "MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS... In reality the story is a myth."
Chocked with good information on agriculture.
... one gets the general idea of the content of this reference companion.

It might be helpful for a child or novace to have had a glossary.
All-in-all, I feel the author(s) did a note-worthy job of a mass-undertaking!

I bought this book in order to have a better overall understanding of history (the history of the Bible, in particular). Also, I love the format of the DK books. The pictures are done nicely, and I love the little tidbits of information that go with each illustration. However, I was disappointed when I was reading this particular book. Some of the information was based on plain facts, but there were those places in which some false information was presented in such a way, as if it were true. One such incident has to do with the event of the 'Massacre of the Innocents' (Recorded in the Bible in Matthew 2). I noticed at the end of the caption, it stated that this story, in reality, is a myth. When I read such statements, I am wondering if I can trust the other information that is presented in this book. Even if a person doesn't accept the spiritual side of the Bible, the historical side is accurate. So, in my opinion, when one makes such a statement, he either clearly does not have a good understanding of history, or, he is presenting a biased statement to promote a false belief about something that is true, for the sole purpose of misleading people. If conclusions like this are written in a book, how can we trust anything else that is written in this book?

If you or your kids have ever wondered what life was like during Bible times, then Bible Lands, written by Jonathan N. Tubb, is the book for you. It provides a fascinating look at the lands of the Bible from a historical point of view. Take a journey back through time. Discover what the people of the Bible ate, wore and used for money and trade. See what plants, trees and fruits grew in the Holy Land. Learn about King Solomon's temple and King Herod's palace.

The book is divided into many sections, each with short blurbs describing various items related to that section. Section titles include: The Israelites, The Canaanites, The Babylonians, and The Bible as Evidence.
The pages are filled with color photos, and both color and black and white drawings, providing a rich visual backdrop for the subject matter.

What I Like: The book is packed with interesting facts about the land of the Bible. You can learn about the history, as well as the archeology, geography, agriculture, history, art and everyday life of the region.

What I Dislike: Nothing.

Age Appeal: 8-12.

Christine M. Irvin - Christian Children's Book Review

I heartily recommend that people read "Bible Lands: DK Eyewitness Books" before beginning a serious study of the Bible, or as a refresher of cultural and historical subjects. This one book is simple, colorful, full of photographs and illustrations, maps and diagrams, with the goal of illuminating life in the times of the Bible. Then as one reads the holy book, pictures of subjects from "Bible Lands" will spring to the forefront of the mind and aid in better understanding.

DK Eyewitness Books are fantastic background sources to so many subjects. New York Times describes each book in the series as "a mini museum between covers." And so it is. Let's take a look.

"Bible Lands" is arranged from the big picture, moving to details. The first chapter is "Lands of the Bible," showing a map, a chronological table, and several photos of key places: Mt. Sinai, Sea of Galilee, a pillar of rock, and the Dead Sea. Then come "Early Ancestors," "The Patriarchs," and "The Canaanites." The chapter about "The Israelites" shows a cut-away of Solomon's Temple, revealing enough to take one's breath away, a map of the two kingdoms, and a photo of a Canaanite stella mentioning Israel.

One of my favorite sections is "Food and Crops." For some reason, I find items on these six pages just downright fascinating. These are things the Patriarchs ate. There is a picture of red lentils, the beans that Jacob probably gave Isaac to trick Isaac into thinking his birthright son Esau was serving him. Leeks, barley, figs, dates, pomegranates, pistachios, olives and their oil, wines, grapes, cheese from goats--all are established foods from the Palestine area, home to the Patriarchs and descendants.

Clothing, jewelry, trade, arts and crafts, then new peoples group: the Assyrians, Babylonians, the Persians--all peoples used by God in punishing the unfaithful Israelites. Then the Greeks, the Romans, Herod, and the time of the New Testament with vital pictures and facts reveal so much of culture of the times.

A final chapter on archeology shows how all these things came to light of day and into this book to provide concrete history of the background of the Holy Bible. Must-reading for its simplicity and wealth of visual information.

This book has power, experience and such greatness. It shows you things about the Bible that I never even knew could even exist. Like the pillar of salt/rock that Lot's wife was turned into because she looked back. Wow. You have to read this book. The Bible put things in persceptive in those times. But seeing them as they are today, is like WOW. Read this book over and over again. I know I will.