Trial: The Life and Crucifixion of Jesus by Gordon Thomas

by Gordon Thomas

Brand New. Ship worldwide

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Gordon Thomas (born 1933) is a Welsh author who has written more than fifty books.
Thomas was born in Wales, in a cemetery keeper's cottage where his grandmother lived. He had his first story published at nine years old in a Boy's Own Paper competition. With his father in the RAF, he traveled widely and was educated at the Cairo High School, the Maritz Brothers (in Port Elizabeth, South Africa) and, lastly, at Bedford Modern School. His first book, completed at the age of seventeen, is the story of a British spy in Russia during World War II, titled Descent Into Danger. He refused the offer of a job at a university in order to accompany a traveling fair for a year: he used those experiences for his novel, Bed of Nails. Since then his books have been published worldwide. He has been a foreign correspondent beginning with the Suez Crisis and ending with the first Gulf War. He was a BBC writer/producer for three flagship BBC programmes: Man Alive, Tomorrow's World and Horizon.

He is a regular contributor to Facta, the respected monthly Japanese news magazine, and he lectures widely on the secret world of intelligence. He also provides expert analysis on intelligence for US and European television and radio programs.His book Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors became a major documentary for Channel Four that he wrote and narrated: The Spy Machine. It followed three years of research during which he was given unprecedented access to Mossad’s main personnel. The documentary was co-produced by Open Media and Israfilm.

Gideon's Spies: Mossad's Secret Warriors has so far been published in 16 languages. A source for this book was Ari Ben-Menashe, a former Israeli intelligence agent, and legendary Israeli spy Rafi Eitan. According to Charles Foster in Contemporary Review: "Writers who know their place are few and far between: fortunately Mr Thomas is one of them. By keeping to his place as a tremendous storyteller without a preacher's pretensions, he has put his book amongst the important chronicles of the state of Israel."

Reviews

[Maria Elena Garcia-Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book, enjoyable and entertaining from start to finish. I recommend reading it.

[samosa foto · Rating 3 out of 5]

a good insight

[Paul Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Trial: The Life and Inevitable Crucifixion of Jesus by Gordon Thomas is an interesting book. It is not as dramatic as some reviewers would have you believe. However, this is not to say the book is not valuable. It is. For those who are believers and, even for those who are agnostic or atheist, this book speaks of the human side of Jesus, while not forgetting his role here on Earth as the Son of God. Rather than simply relying on the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life, he does his own independent research. Mr. Thomas looks upon Jesus as the Saviour but also as a threat to the political structure to the leaders of his time. He explains why Jesus' death was inevitable. He humanizes Jesus from his birth right through to the agonizing last hours of his life on the cross. One thing that stood out for me was the new light he sheds on such people as Herod Antipas, Mary Magdalene, Mary and Martha of Bethany. For me the most interesting portrait was that of Claudia Procula, wife of Pontius Pilate. Mr. Thomas describes her as someone attracted to Jesus' message. The author describes Procula's growing interest and her appeals to her husband to have Jesus released. This book humanizes Jesus without diminishing his theological significance. Mr. Thomas deserves great credit for this book first published in 1987. I highly recommend this book. Worthwhile.