NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK“This scrupulously elegant account of the creation of what four centuries of history has confirmed is the finest English-language work of all time, is entirely true to its subject: Adam Nicolson’s lapidary prose is masterly, his measured account both as readable as the curious demand and as dignified as the story deserves.” — Simon Winchester, … and as dignified as the story deserves.” — Simon Winchester, author of Krakatoa
In God’s Secretaries, Adam Nicolson gives a fascinating and dramatic account of the era of the King James Bible and its translation, immersing us in an age whose greatest monument is not a painting or a building but a book.
A network of complex currents flowed across Jacobean England. This was the England of Shakespeare, Jonson, and Bacon; the era of the Gunpowder Plot and the worst outbreak of the plague. Jacobean England was both more godly and less godly than the country had ever been, and the entire culture was drawn taut between these polarities.
This was the world that created the King James Bible. It is the greatest work of English prose ever written, and it is no coincidence that the translation was made at the moment “Englishness,” specifically the English language itself, had come into its first passionate maturity. The English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own scope than any form of the language before or since. It drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
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Very well written. Holds your attention.
Excellent info on the translation process that produced the KJV of the Bible.
Not a particularly easy read, but gives fascinating insight into the background and process of producing the King James Bible.
Tells the story of English translations of the Bible and how interpretations can be manipulated.
It’s a pity that the people who take The Holy Bible as literally God’s words and thereby 100% factual,are not the type likely to read a book like this. For,if they did,they’d be forced to see just how much (and how often) man’s grubby little thumbs got stuck in the pie,as it were. One translation after another,rather a large,anachronistic,gorgeously written,game of telephone.
I thought I was getting a book about the process involved, but mainly this one focuses on the people. It just came at the subject from a direction I wasn’t expecting.
Interesting history on how the King James Version of the English Bible came together. The story is told in a matter of fact style which may turn off those expecting to be inspired. No worries. A lot of us may like sausage, but not want to watch it being made. No matter how it came together the best testimony to the King Kames Bible is that it’s been around for over 400 years! It combined the best of the Geneva and Tyndale translations with the majesty of Shakespearean English. That is what made it inspirational.
Good overview of this time period. Very well researched and presented in an interesting way. Learned many small details never heard before.
Fact beats fiction in this well researched step forward in religious history
Dense and “academic”, but within the limits of an author in love with the topic, and dismissive of other versions of the literature, it is very well done. Interesting, but so much detail it lost my attention in significant places. Vast admiration is due for the research and work on the prose, but very heavy. It did give me a better idea of the life and times of the work, and provides a connection between today’s world of politics and religion with the world of the early 1600s. Recommended, but be warned!
Interesting historical read but a bit biased toward ” the majesty of New Testament”
The title plus it’s about the bible
As a person who has wondered about the many translations of the Bible and what was “true” or manipulated by the writers over many centuries I found this book fascinating. The descriptions of the “secretaries” and their characters was really helpful and showed how venial all men are regardless if they are men of the cross. Showing how politics and public mores influenced the writing provided insights to the outcome of their work. It also prompted me to investigate other Bible versions. Really enjoyed the authors style which made it easy to follow.
The King James Bible is widely read and quoted through the modern world. However, few of us understand how it came to be written, and by whom. God’s Secretaries illuminates the men who were appointed to the royal committee charged with determining, based on their own beliefs and prejudices, the translations, inclusions and exclusions of ancient texts that resulted in the final version. A fascinating read.
This book gave an in-depth study of the individuals who translated the Bible to English, the lives they lead, why they were chosen, and the many books that influence them and their particular translations. You will think you were sitting down and talking with these individuals.
Informative study of the impact of culture and politics on translation
Very well written. Holds your attention.
Excellent info on the translation process that produced the KJV of the Bible.
Not a particularly easy read, but gives fascinating insight into the background and process of producing the King James Bible.
Tells the story of English translations of the Bible and how interpretations can be manipulated.