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THE YEAR OF LIVING BIBLICALLY By: A.J. Jacobs
One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible
Simon & Schuster
October 2007
On Sale: October 9, 2007
368 pages ISBN: 0743291476 EAN: 9780743291477 Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Religion
From the bestselling author of THE-KNOW-IT-ALL comes a fascinating and timely exploration of religion and the Bible. Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers. The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes. Jacobs's quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire Encyclopedia Britannica for The Know-It-All. His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife's chagrin. Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain. Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, The Year of Living Biblically is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.
 Media BuzzDr. Oz - December 31, 2012 Good Morning America - January 4, 2009 Weekend Edition Saturday - August 16, 2008 Today - February 6, 2008 Conan O'Brien - December 4, 2007 Conan O'Brien - October 10, 2007 Today - October 8, 2007 Fresh Air - NPR - October 8, 2007
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