Book Review: The Book of Books

Quite a title, no? Yet, the author is not arrogantly applying this title to his own work, but to his subject matter – the Old Testament of the Bible. It is the first of a two-part series on the Christian Scriptures by Henri Daniel-Rops, the other being the Book of Life on the New Testament. Having judged the book by its cover & having no idea what to expect inside, “a series of surprises” is how I might summarize this book.

The first surprise is that this is a book for children, written in a language & style that an adult would use to narrate a story to children at story time. In a day when most Catholic adults probably could not name the two sons of Adam & Eve – or maybe even Adam & Eve themselves! – the very idea of trying to present these mighty things to children seems almost laughable, if not impossible. Yet, it is a well-written book that captures & holds your attention. Like a child I found myself thinking, “And then what happened!?!”

Second, while many commentaries dwell on some aspect of the Scriptures, the primary purpose of this book is to present a summation of the entire Old Testament including the Deuterocanonical books, thought it too explains the meanings of the events of Scripture in light of the Catholic Faith. There are not many books that attempt to do this, & probably fewer that can claim to have successfully pulled it off; but this one does. And, amazingly, it does it quite well in only 166 pages!

This book offers the narrative sequence of the people of Israel, but does so in an engaging “stories-‘round-the-campfire” format that I’m sure would appeal to older children. It not only relates the story, but also connects the events to familiar happenings in the lives of children, to the beliefs & practices of the Catholic faith, to other famous events of ancient history, & to the more recent history of Europe, thus helping the biblical stories to take root in the mind & soul of the child rather than just remaining obscure historical knowledge.

It does however, probably for the sake of the understanding of the intended audience, make some significant simplifications of complex story lines & smoothes over some of the more complicated motivations or unseemly aspects of our biblical heroes.

Third, it was written in the 1950’s in French & then translated into English. Thus, we get a world view of “how things were” before the Sixties happened. Much of this is good, but it also includes elements that we may not find so engaging these days, such as the numerous racial stereotypes: the cruel & vicious Bedouin Arabs, the savage African Negroes, the shrew business acumen of the Jews, & continual reference to Europeans as the descendants of the fair-skinned, bright-eyed Aryans. I imagine it would be very difficult to explain the references to children.

The author (or translator) uses the Douay-Rheims translation of Scripture, including the spelling of names, which are somewhat different than what most are familiar with today. I personally find this quaint rather than troublesome, but I know not everyone will agree.

Pleasant notables include the frequent presentation of the Psalms as the poetry & worship hymns offered to God by the Israelites. There are also some very lovely black & white illustrations of biblical scenes by Fritz Kredel that accompany nearly every chapter; & there are good hand-drawn maps of the land of “Chanaan” & surroundings. I was pleased that the story of the people of Israel was ultimately connected to the divine plan God began with creation, revealed initially to the world in the people of Israel, & brought to perfection in Christ Jesus - fulfilling all of Israel’s hopes & expectations & offering his gift of salvation to the whole world through his Church, the New Israel.

It’s shortcomings aside (those mentioned above, plus the type itself being faint in some places), this book would make an excellent book for 9 to 12 year olds, a useful tool for catechists, or even a good Old Testament overview for adults. It is not intended to replace the reading of the Scriptures, but does serve very well as an introduction that can familiarize one with major characters, places, & events of the sacred texts before diving into them directly. Certainly any book that helps one understand the Old Testament better is a worthwhile book indeed.

H. E. Rating:
4 aspergillum shakes
. . .

...
The Book of Books: The Old Testament Retold, Daniel-Rops, Henri, trans. O’Kelly. Sophia Institute Press - Arkive Edition, 2009. Original publ. 1955. English ed. P.J. Kenedy & Sons, New York, 1956.

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