Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journey [Hardcover]

Bruce Feiler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 25, 2005

"The process of gathering these images reminded me of the Bible's effortless ability to reinvent itself for each generation and each new way of searching."
—Bruce Feiler

Its stories may be the best known in the world, but its locations have long been a mystery. Where did Noah's ark land? Where did Moses receive the Ten Commandments? Where are the lost cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? Now, in Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journey, New York Times bestselling author Bruce Feiler offers an unprecedented heart-stirring adventure through the landscape of some of history's most storied events.

Featuring Bruce Feiler's own photography as well as his selections from professional collections, Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journey brings together breathtaking vistas, intimate portraits, and fascinating panoramas, providing firsthand access to the inscrutable land where three of the world's great religions were born—and finally puts a face on the stories that have long inspired the human spirit.

Over several years, Feiler traveled nearly ten thousand miles through the deserts of the Middle East, which led first to his runaway national bestseller Walking the Bible. This new illustrated book follows his route, offering a thrilling photographic voyage through the actual places of some of the Bible's most memorable events—from the heights of Mount Ararat, where Noah's ark landed, to the desert outpost in Turkey, where Abraham first heard the words of God, to the summit where Moses overlooked the Promised Land.

Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journey chronicles a landscape that nurtured the relationship between humans and the divine, breathing new meaning into stories that have been a timeless source of inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The photos beautifully depict the dramatic land that gave birth to three of the world’s great religions” (USA Today )

About the Author

Bruce Feiler is the author of five consecutive New York Times bestsellers, including Walking the Bible, Abraham, and America's Prophet. He writes the "This Life" column for the New York Times and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and twin daughters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (October 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060799048
• ISBN-13: 978-0060799045
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 10.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #202,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BRUCE FEILER is one of America's most popular voices on faith, family, and finding meaning in everyday life. He is the best-selling author of nine books, including WALKING THE BIBLE, ABRAHAM, and AMERICA'S PROPHET, and one of only a handful of writers to have four consecutive New York Times nonfiction bestsellers in the last decade. He is also the writer/presenter of the PBS miniseries WALKING THE BIBLE. His latest book, THE COUNCIL OF DADS, tells the uplifting story of how friendship and community can help one survive life's greatest challenge.

Bruce Feiler's early books involve immersing himself in different cultures and bringing other worlds vividly to life. These include LEARNING TO BOW, an account of the year he spent teaching in rural Japan; LOOKING FOR CLASS, about life inside Oxford and Cambridge; and UNDER THE BIG TOP, which depicts the year he spent performing as a clown in the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus.

His recent work made him one of the country's most respected authorities on religion, politics, and the emotional issues of our time. WALKING THE BIBLE describes his perilous, 10,000-mile journey retracing the Five Books of Moses through the desert. The book was hailed as an "instant classic" by the Washington Post and "thoughtful, informed, and perceptive" by The New York Times. It spent more than a year and a half on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into fifteen languages, and is the subject of a children's book and a photography book.

ABRAHAM recounts his personal search for the shared ancestor of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. "Exquisitely written," wrote the Boston Globe, "100 percent engaging." The book was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine, became a runaway New York Times bestseller, and inspired thousands of grassroots interfaith discussions.

WHERE GOD WAS BORN describes his year-long trek retracing the Bible through Israel, Iraq, and Iran. "Bruce Feiler is a real-life Indiana Jones," wrote the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. AMERICA'S PROPHET recounts his unprecedented journey through American history - from the pilgrims to the founding fathers, the Civil War to the Civil Rights movement - exploring how the Exodus is America's greatest story and Moses is our true founding father. Both were New York Times bestsellers.

In 2006, PBS aired the miniseries WALKING THE BIBLE that received record ratings and was viewed by 20 million people in its first month. "Beguiling," wrote the Wall Street Journal. "Mr. Feiler is an engaging and informed guide."

Bruce Feiler has written for numerous publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, and Gourmet, where he won three James Beard Awards. He is also a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, CNN, and Fox News. He has been the subject of Jay Leno joke and a JEOPARDY! question, and his face appears on a postage stamp in the Grenadines.

His latest book, THE COUNCIL OF DADS: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me, describes how he responded to a diagnosis of cancer by asking six men from all passages of his life to be present through the passages of his young daughters's lives. "I believe my daughters will have plenty of opportunities in their lives," he wrote these men. "They'll have loving families. They'll have each other. But they may not have me. They may not have their dad. Will you help be their dad?"

A native of Savannah, Georgia, Bruce Feiler lives in New York with wife, Linda Rottenberg, and their twin daughters. For more information, please visit www.brucefeiler.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PAGES OF HISTORY THAT COME ALIVE, October 31, 2005

By 

Alan W. Petrucelli (THE ENTERTAINMENT REPORT (ALAN W. PETRUCELLI)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journey (Hardcover)

We all know the stories of Noah and his ark, Moses and The Ten Commandments and Abraham in the Promised Land. Now noted photographer Bruce Feiler takes us to the actual places where history was made. The photos --- intimate portraits, breathtaking vistas and fascinating panoramas --- are nothing less than astounding (and, in the case of the close-ups of the mummified Joseph, a bit shocking). From the heights of Mount Ararat (where Noah's ark landed) to the desert outpost in Turkey (where Abraham first heard the words of God) to the summit where Moses met His maker, Feiler puts a face on the stories that have long inspired the human spirit and kept man's faith alive. Thou shall not ignore this gem.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, mediocre quality, January 9, 2006

By 

Edward F. Omeara "edw3rd" (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journey (Hardcover)

I was excited about this book, and enjoyed the storytelling and images. However, I was expecting higher resolution photography. The type that really take you in and make you want to study them for a long time. The images in this book, while beautiful, have a grainy feel to them. I'm quite surprised that the authors were filming a series and didn't take a professional photographer with them.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Photographs of a Land Familiar and Strange, March 9, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Walking the Bible: A Photographic Journey (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful set of photographs from the Middle East. It professes that these are the locations where many of the stories in the bible take place. This book is a companion to the TV PBS miniseries that visits the locations where the familiar stories take place.

For instance Noah's ark might have landed (as with a lot of the bible there is discussion as to where it really happened) on Mt Ararat, and here are pictures of the mountain from several aspects. Other stories are treated in a similar manner.

Most of the stories told here and illustrated with photographs from where they (might have) taken place. If I sound skeptical, it's because 5,000 years is a long time, even in the Middle East. The locations are mostly from the Old Testament, where Abraham first heard the words of God and he sleeps on the summit where Moses overlooked the Promised Land.

The pictures show a wealth of detail of an area at the same time familiar and strange.