Some may question why the author, Philip Law felt the need to write this shortened version of the Bible (still the World's bestselling book). My understanding is that he thought it was worth trying to capture the essence of the Bible by condensing some of the memorable stories, the poetry and the wisdom contained within it. Most versions of the bible contain at least 770,000 words - so it's no mean feat to read it in its entirety. So, this really is meant as a taster - and in that regard I think it succeeds. It's worth mentioning that the author does not summarise or paraphrase: he only uses the Bible's own words of scripture. I don't really have any religious leanings but have always wanted to get a rough grasp of what the Bible contains. The author does accept that, in making such reductions to the original work, some of the depth and texture of the text has been lost. But the aim of this book is to give us the essentials and set them out in a way that helps you to trace the thread of the Bible's overall narrative.

There is also an intention by the author to inspire and encourage readers to go on and read more of the stories as they appear in the Bible itself. I thought the author did an excellent job of helping me to broaden my very limited knowledge of the Bible - if you have the same goal then I can recommend this book to you. Oh, by the way, I don't regard myself as a slow reader but it took me 1hr 40 minutes to read it this 'One Hour' book!.