Originally airing on PBS stations in January 2006, Walking the Bible follows author Bruce Feiler on his quest to explore the stories of the Bible in a trek across the Middle East. Joined by archaeologist and fellow adventurer Avner Goren, Feiler begins his spiritual -- and physical -- journey by foot, boat, and train in Episode 1, "Go Forth: from Creation to Abraham." Feiler and Goren explore the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Turkey, delving into the biblical story of Creation. From there they venture to Mt. Ararat in search of Noah's Ark, visit the Dead Sea, and then end up in Jerusalem. Episode 2, "A Coat of Many Colors: The Israelites in Egypt," retraces Joseph's path to Egypt after being sold into bondage by his brothers, and then concludes at the Red Sea, where Moses parted the waters for fleeing Israelites. Episode 3, "Toward the Promised Land: Forty Years in the Desert," ends Feiler's and Goren's journey with a walk through the foreboding Sinai Desert, a climb up Mt. Sinai (the scene of Moses' acceptance of the Ten Commandments), and finally to the top of Mt. Nebo, where God showed Moses the Promised Land for his people. Interspersed throughout each episode are dramatic Scripture readings, which put each location's visit into context.
The Barnes & Noble Review Walking the Bible merits a place on any intellectually minded traveler's bookshelf simply on the strength of its premise: a compelling journey of 10,000 miles across the Near and Middle East, in search of the locales at which many of the Old Testament's key events took place. Meticulously researched and documented, the book draws upon a wide range of canonical and secular research on the explicit geography of the Bible, and it offers readers a well-rounded look at both the holiest and most ignored biblical spots on earth.
The guiding principle of Bruce Feiler's quest, on which he was accompanied by legendary biblical expert Avner Goren, was to place biblical stories in the historical and cultural context of the ancient Near East. Drawing upon the traditional Hebrew and Latin terms for investigating and analyzing the content of the Bible, Feiler explains, "What Avner and I undertook was a topographical midrash, a geographical exegesis of the Bible."
What may sound like a high-minded, scholarly journey rooted in logic and reason also turned out to be a richly detailed, complex, inspirational tale of spiritual regeneration. The combination of personal narrative, harrowing travelogue, spiritual quest, and modern politics places Walking the Bible among the most remarkable works of travel literature. An accomplished author, Feiler makes what would otherwise be an excellent core historical travel text an incredibly moving, profound examination of the human relationship with God.
Many travel writers use their adventures to seek answers to philosophical questions about identity, society, and humanity. Feiler's desert trek is an attempt to prove the validity of otherworldly, sacred religious beliefs by establishing and acknowledging terrestrial proof that biblical stories are, in fact, history, thereby solidifying the spiritual and experiential connection between them. While many before him have made pilgrimages to holy sites in order to reaffirm a connection with God, Feiler seeks to bestow a similar sanctity upon the living, tenable spaces on earth that figure prominently in the great Judeo-Christian saga.
The relevance of this mission is confirmed repeatedly throughout his travels. Feiler begins his book by writing of the Jewish patriarch Abraham, "He was a traveler, called by some voice not entirely clear that said: Go, head to this land, walk along this route, and trust what you will find." That ancient, mythical call is a spirit-rouser for the author, and for the reader. While traveling in Israel, Feiler learns about the biblically sanctioned connection between Jews and their land when an American settler in the West Bank tells him that "to walk in the land of Israel is a holy thing to do." Ultimately, Feiler himself grows increasingly attached to the land upon which he treads, writing, "I began to feel a certain pull from the landscape.... It was a feeling of gravity." With that, Feiler's connection between abstract spirituality and terra firma is made profound, both for himself and for the reader lucky enough to take this remarkable journey with him. (Emily Burg)
Anyone who cares about the Bible or history or mankind should be grateful to Bruce Feiler.
Goren and Feiler make for two of the most entertaining traveling buddies since Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.
San Francisco Jewish Bulletin
A work of magic...[succeeds] in making the Bible exciting.
How on Earth did Bruce Feiler come up with so many new, insightful, witty, and touching things to say...?
Evocative, descriptive, emotionally honest, and often funny.
Christian Science Monitor
An instant classic...A pure joy to read.
Washington Post Book World
Armchair reading with a spiritual bent...Feiler writes with a sense of poetry about the land.
The perfect read for people who are interested in the Bible and the Middle East.
Anyone planning to visit the Middle East should take two books with them—the Bible and this one.
An enthusiastic travelogue...Feiler delivers a wealth of information in an accessible and entertaining format.
New York Times Book Review
Feiler's accomplishment, and it's a profound one, is to confront his idea of God...
An inspirational oasis...From the barren land, Feiler emerges, like those whose paths he traces, renewed and transformed.
A powerful and spiritual pilgrimage...in every way, marvelous if not indispensable reading for anyone remotely interested in the Torah.
Bruce Feiler went looking for proof. He learned that proof doesn't matter.
Smart and savvy, insightful and illuminating.
An exciting, well-told story informed by Feiler's boundless intellectual curiosity...[and] sense of adventure.
[Feiler] is an excellent guide...He has...invested [this book] with a keen intellectual curiosity.
An eloquently spiritual pilgrimage.
Mr. Feiler, in taking us through various harsh and craggy landscapes whose very appearance gleams with biblical associations, proves to be an excellent guide and a worthy wrestler. He has put an enormous amount of information into this book and has invested it with a keen intellectual curiosity, so that we learn a great deal about the spiritual meaning of the Bible and the centuries of speculation about it as a historical document. Most of all, Mr. Feiler achieves for his readers what he set out to achieve for himself: to ground the Bible in real soil and in real history and, in so doing, demonstrate its amazing vitality.New York Times
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