The pages of this book show that the Bible is an historical document rather than fanciful stories by investigating its many stories and relating them to actual people, places and events. Through this process the culture and lifestyles of the Hebrew are described allowing for better Biblical understanding. The author began his research on this subject as a sceptic and that the stories of the Bible were just "stories. But, after reviewing all the evidence discovered that the Bible was an historical document. The book is easy to read and holds the attention well.

The Bible As History, now thoroughly updated with the latest scientific and archaeological breakthroughs in biblical investigation. Includes: revolutionary new evidence that confirms some of the most monumental and controversial events in the Bible; recently deciphered texts from the ancient world that offer an intriguing look back at the origin of the Ten Commandments; a new chapter revealing the extraordinary techniques that may soon prove the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. "The Bible As History" will take you on a journey to the heart of Holy Scripture as it pieces together one of the most stunning spiritual puzzles in the history of mankind.

Barnes and Noble
First published in 1955, this book has remained through its revisions a standard text on biblical investigation. Readers all over the world have been captivated by the descriptions of excavations, the deciphering of ancient documents, & the informed arguments concerning the reliability of the Bible. Since the first revised edition in 1964, however, new techniques have brought much additional information to light, and fascinating parallels between the Ten Commandments and other ancient documents have been discovered. This second revised edition, published in 1980, includes a new chapter on the Turin Shroud, a postscipt on the accuracy and interpretation of the Bible by biblical scholar Joachim Rehork.

Time
"A lively blend of drama & reporting that reads like a detective story grafted on a history book."

Ingram
This classic book grew out of the fascination that German journalist, Werner Keller, developed when he began to learn that the work of archaeologists and historians corroborated Biblical accounts which he had hitherto dismissed as mere "pious tales.

An historian
I was very excited to read this book. Regretably, this book is a disappointment! Having studied Biblical history for many years at Columbia University, I have found many inaccuracies in this work. The authors appear to be pretentious and inept to discuss the topics they claim they are expert in. Perhaps this is due to the fact that much has been discovered since this book was published in 1955- or perhaps this is simply a bad work. If you are interested in this topic, I highly recommend you not waste your time on 'The Bible as History.'

stephanie (morosis -- eudoramail.com)
I am far from religious. but this is an awesome book. Far from boring and kept my attention....I forgot I was reading about the bible.

gizmo C. Thames from Collegeville, Pa USA
This book links the events of history with those of the Bible and demonstrates and validates the historical accuracy of the Bible. As a student of the Bible I often try to put myself into the time and circumstances of the events in the Bible. This book does just that - it fills in the political and sociological background for many of the Bible events. I thought is was truly fascinating and left me certain that much is still waiting to be found in the ever changing sands of the fertile crescent.

Andrew K. Wong from Los Angeles, CA
The Bible is right after all..... . . . Dr. Keller ended the Introduction to this volume with these words and appropriately so. The Bible stands as the greatest work of literature and history this world has ever seen or will see. It is the all-time bestselling book. There is more tangible physical evidence for the Bible than for any other work of literature. Those who contend otherwise simply have not studied the Bible, relying on hearsay and speculation instead; or refuse to believe its truth; or ignore the crushing weight of historiographical and archaeological evidence the 20th century has produced in corroboration with the Biblical accounts. Dr. Keller's work addresses the last issue: fitting the pieces of peoples past with where and when the Bible said they existed.

"The Bible as History" was the first volume documenting the many archaeological finds in Palestine and the Middle East supporting the Biblical text. Prior to its first publication in 1955, there were no such works--only stacks of assorted reports from archaeologists from their digs. Since 1955, the book has sold over 10 million copies in 24 languages. In the meantime, Biblical archaeology has evolved as a hard science, yielding fresh data by the day.

This work traces all major discoveries relating to the Biblical text from Genesis 1:1 to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The chapters are arranged chronologically to coincide with the Canon. There are three sets of black and white color plates and many illustrations and maps throughout the volume.

The book reads like a detective story. Dr. Keller begins his sleuthing from the Biblical text and works forward through history to attach archaeological finds to the verses. In doing so, he never gives the answer away prematurely, but entices the reader along until he or she truly realizes the impact of the magnificent discoveries. At times, the data contradict what the Bible says. Dr. Keller lays all the facts bare even if they seemingly controvert the Bible.

Every ancient race of people, every historical figure, every geographic place of significance finds mention in this book. "The Bible as History" provides a thorough survey of Biblical culture. This is a marvelous work written lucidly for the lay reader. It will make the Old and New Testament worlds come alive for the reader. Its critics invariably suffer from a lack of objectivity, a lack of interest in the subject, or are unable to face the hard truth that "The Bible is right after all!"

A reader from Winston-Salem, NC USA
A good book that tries to link historical evidence to Biblical events and stories. Please understand that it was written in 1956 so all of the evidence is not based on the most recent scientific methods or archeological discoveries. It also is a "history" book so it stays clear of mystical and miraculous proof for events. It does not denigrate these events though.

immorosfrom Morgan Hill, CA United States
I will admit that the first few chapters of this book were rather disappointing to me. The common thread seemed to be 'Archaeological Dig X gave incredible confirmation to this bible story. It's amazing! But then we discovered that we were wrong all along, and there was no confirmation after all." Next Chapter "Archaeological Dig Y gave incredible..." etc. etc.

I decided to stick with it, though, simply because the way the history is presented is far more interesting than any textbook I've ever seen, and as such, more readable, easier to remember and learn. I'm glad I did, as after the first few chapters, there are some amazing discoveries that are written about.

The best thing is that Keller takes nothing for granted. He's not the kind of scholar to ignore any evidence to the contrary, nor does he ever try to force any preconceived notions on the findings. Due to this, when he does present some amazing stories of corroborations between biblical and extrabiblical discoveries, it is easy to take on face value. Personally, I'm a suspicious reader, so I looked into some other books in the same field and was pleased to see that although the book does not always go into specifics, it never ignores the important ones to prove an erroneous point.

Not only Christians can enjoy this, either. The skeptic will still gain a lot. The purpose of this book is not to prove or disprove the existence of miracles, nor is it really sufficient to prove truth in the Christian faith. All it does is allow you to look at the Bible as a historical document, and evaluate its validity from unbiased grounds, whether you agree with the religion or not. From this point of view, it is quite amazing, and should be respected as one of the most complete and continually corroborated pieces of history we have.

Keith Livingstone from Swan Hill, Victoria, Australia
I have read the other reviews on this site and I think a few miss the point. Keller admits he is a journalist with a well-developed fascination with biblical history, and this is meant as a book for the masses, not as an archaeological tome. As such, Keller doesn't make grandiose claims or conclusions, but rather sensibly, where there is evidence he points it out, and where there is conjecture, he points it out. I found it quite a useful little 'filler-inner' in my library, because there are lots of nifty little tid-bits that I haven't seen referenced in bigger, glossier books. For instance, I didn't realize that in Ur of the Chaldees several millenia ago, they were brewing beers, Pilseners, lagers, and dehydrating them for use on long journeys! If Keller was some fundamentalist moralist he wouldn't be 'brewing' on that subject at all... but as it is, he is pragmatic and states things as he sees them. And why not? Good luck to him! The only reason I didn't give it more than 3 stars was because the illustrations are predominantly from the 1955 edition, which I have also read... and the new little one doesn't have as many in-depth photos as that one did. With the wealth of modern visual imagery available, an effort on behalf of the publishers to cross-reference with landsat images and more modern photos would be appreciated and necessary I'd think. Anyhow... I enjoyed it, and there is no one book that can please everyone.. so my 'advice' is buy it (only 7 bucks!), and let whoever you get it for make up their own mind about it.

Laura K. Hattaway from Las Vegas, NV USA
"Convoluted & Contradictory Stuff about Biblical Stories". That would be a more appropriate title for the book. Basically, the system is that the author introduces things that are spoken of in the Bible, he explains what may have happened according to the historical record, then he further explains how there's no way that what he has just presented is feasable. It's a lot of convaluted nonsense that gave me a head-ache half of the way through it; as I had no more strength for plowing through the rest, I threw it in the garbage. I'd purchased it as a gift for a friend, but decided I'd rather keep the friend. If you are a scientist, his inability to commit to a hypothesis will annoy you. If you are a Biblical scholar, the fact that there is absolutely NO representation of "The Bible as History" will vex you. Don't waste your time on this.