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Noah: The Real Story
Noah and the ark makes it on everyone's list of top ten favorite Bible stories-right up there with Jonah and the whale, and David and Goliath. Other books have covered just the Flood, or just one aspect of the search for Noah's ark, but this is the only book to tell the complete story. Was the Flood global or local? How big was the ark and how was it built? How did Noah gather and take care of the animals? Where can you see the ark today? Noah: The Real Story answers these questions and more.
You will read about the Noah story as told in the Bible, flood stories around the world, the many quests for the ark over the centuries, Noah in movies and television, and Noah's secret for surviving the end of the world.
You will read about the Noah story as told in the Bible, flood stories around the world, the many quests for the ark over the centuries, Noah in movies and television, and Noah's secret for surviving the end of the world.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 16, 2015
Originally reviewed at Bookwraiths Reviews
Larry Stone's Noah: The Real Story is a book many people will pick up because they either believe it is a literary work espousing the creationist viewpoint of the Noah story or a book pointing out the inconsistences of the biblical flood legend. The simple fact of the matter is that neither assumption is true. Rather, Noah: The Real Story is more correctly described as a cliff notes type work, intended to give an uninformed person general information about the Noah story.
Before anyone even points it out, I will concede that this book is most likely being published to take advantage of the hype from the Noah film starring Russell Crowe. Nothing inherently wrong with that, and perhaps it might even be appropriate to view Noah: The Real Story as a companion book to that movie, because its main purpose is to give an interested moviegoer more details about the biblical Noah story, the historical arguments regarding its accuracy or inaccuracy, and other interesting facts. Indeed, the majority of the book is spent on questions such as how did Noah build the ark, how did the animals get on the ark, how did eight people feed all those animals, and how did they get rid of all that animal dung! But other topics such as was the flood a worldwide catastrophe or a local event, where did the ark land, how did all those animals spread across the world, and has anyone ever “discovered” or “claimed” to have discovered Noah’s ark are also touched upon. And throughout the author makes a good faith effort to always present both the “believer” and the “skeptics” arguments about the feasability of Noah's ark.
Not satisfied with just these general issues regarding the “truth” of the biblical story however, Mr. Stone also spends a large amount of time focusing on pop culture issues. There are chapters dealing with the movie industries numerous attempts to portray the biblical flood legend. There is a chapter detailing all the worldwide ark reconstructions and their current uses. There is even a portion focusing on modern amusement parks built around life size models of Noah’s ark. Honestly, if a topic has something to do with Noah’s ark, Mr. Stone discusses it in some small measure.
With all that being said, Noah: The Real Story was only an “okay” read for me personally, but this was because I was looking for details of the differing points of view on the Noah flood story. Coming into the read with that expectation, this novel seemed very light on scientific evidence, skimmed over numerous facts, and did not give me any additional information that I have not already read on numerous social media websites.
Does that mean no one should read this book?
Absolutely not. For those readers not familiar with the biblical flood story, Noah: The Real Story is a fine book that will give them a solid basis of knowledge to further their inquire into this interesting subject.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.
Larry Stone's Noah: The Real Story is a book many people will pick up because they either believe it is a literary work espousing the creationist viewpoint of the Noah story or a book pointing out the inconsistences of the biblical flood legend. The simple fact of the matter is that neither assumption is true. Rather, Noah: The Real Story is more correctly described as a cliff notes type work, intended to give an uninformed person general information about the Noah story.
Before anyone even points it out, I will concede that this book is most likely being published to take advantage of the hype from the Noah film starring Russell Crowe. Nothing inherently wrong with that, and perhaps it might even be appropriate to view Noah: The Real Story as a companion book to that movie, because its main purpose is to give an interested moviegoer more details about the biblical Noah story, the historical arguments regarding its accuracy or inaccuracy, and other interesting facts. Indeed, the majority of the book is spent on questions such as how did Noah build the ark, how did the animals get on the ark, how did eight people feed all those animals, and how did they get rid of all that animal dung! But other topics such as was the flood a worldwide catastrophe or a local event, where did the ark land, how did all those animals spread across the world, and has anyone ever “discovered” or “claimed” to have discovered Noah’s ark are also touched upon. And throughout the author makes a good faith effort to always present both the “believer” and the “skeptics” arguments about the feasability of Noah's ark.
Not satisfied with just these general issues regarding the “truth” of the biblical story however, Mr. Stone also spends a large amount of time focusing on pop culture issues. There are chapters dealing with the movie industries numerous attempts to portray the biblical flood legend. There is a chapter detailing all the worldwide ark reconstructions and their current uses. There is even a portion focusing on modern amusement parks built around life size models of Noah’s ark. Honestly, if a topic has something to do with Noah’s ark, Mr. Stone discusses it in some small measure.
With all that being said, Noah: The Real Story was only an “okay” read for me personally, but this was because I was looking for details of the differing points of view on the Noah flood story. Coming into the read with that expectation, this novel seemed very light on scientific evidence, skimmed over numerous facts, and did not give me any additional information that I have not already read on numerous social media websites.
Does that mean no one should read this book?
Absolutely not. For those readers not familiar with the biblical flood story, Noah: The Real Story is a fine book that will give them a solid basis of knowledge to further their inquire into this interesting subject.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I’d like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to receive this review copy and inform everyone that the review you have read is my opinion alone.
February 14, 2014
Before I start this review, Let's put out my opinion out for all to see. Then you can decide if you want to read this review. I view the story of Noah's Ark as a myth and an analogy meant to help us understand the nature of man. The Bible is not a science book. The first part of the Old Testament, especially Genesis, isn't even good history. The first person in the bible that has any historical collaboration at all is King David. It is a collection of myths and wonderful stories that established the basis for three religions. But it is not a book of science. Frankly I'm not even sure if the original authors meant for these origin stories to be taken literally.
Are you still with me? Good.
Larry Stone's purpose in Noah: The Real Story is to explain how the story of Noah could have happened. He believes in a literal interpretation of the bible story. The author discusses most of the questions that skeptics have asked about the ark story. How did Noah get all the animals on the ark, how did he feed them, was the flood local or global, where did it land and how did the animals get to the ark or spread out, etc. Pretty much all the corners are covered. He focuses on Noah's tale specifically with only a fleeting look at the geological and geographical problems the flood presents. For a skeptic like me, I found it an interesting read if only because it presents most of the talking points that Creationists and literal interpreters of the bible will set forward. My guess is that for most readers, it will be preaching to the choir.
Yet there were very troubling issues for me, like "Why now?" This brief book (under 200 pages) feels like a cut and paste job. It feels loosely structured and a bit sloppy, like when it throws in an interview by a Great Flood expert. There is quite a bit of talk about a developing Noah's Ark amusement ark that sounds like a commercial. The overall feel is a quick, not well thought out book that is hastily done. The fact that it was published when the commercial film Noah is about to be in the theaters pretty much confirms my position. My suspicion is it was hurried for publication specifically to ride on the film's coattail.
That is uncomfortable enough, but Stones' explanation for many things just aren't very good. Many are the usual creationist explanations. For instance he explains the number of animals referred to as "kind" in the Bible as being genus rather then species. That, according to the author, would bring the amount of animals from millions to a conservative 16,000. He seems to think the ark could havebeen able to hold that many animals. I doubt most others would agree with him. Then there is the questions about feeding, waste disposal, and keeping the predator from eating all those cute little vegetarians for over one year. Almost all of Stone's answer are pure speculation derived from the sparseness of details found in the Bible. Any explanation, scientific or historical, that contradicts the Bible is simply ignored.
One interesting aspect is that the author will actually say to questions, like the waste disposal problem, "We don't know". I find that a bit refreshing. Yet it is a totally different type of "I don't know" from the one that scientists will say. When a scientist says I don't know he means "I don't know but some day with the right discoveries and evidence we might." Stone's I don know is "I don't know but it means God took care of it". I'm not implying this. the author actually states "It means God took care of it."
It very important that I state that I am not reviewing this poorly because I disagree with it. I enjoy reading topics I have different views of, especially religious explanations of events, when they are well done. I even find Ken Ham's website Answers in Genesis quite entertaining and once in a while, like what Bill Nye said to Ham in their debate, "I learned something". I gave this book a poor review because I did not learn anything. It does not do a good job in expressing its viewpoint and it is hastily, even sloppily, written. As a book of Christian Apologetics or a Creationist perspective. you can do a whole lot better.
There were two areas I found informative. Stone gives a nice rundown of the attempts to find Noah's Ark which, according to legend, landed on Mount Arafat...but maybe not. He is also quick to note those claims that have been correctly deemed hoaxes. I also enjoyed his brief history of how Hollywood has treated the story of Noah although he left out my two favorites: John Huston's performance as Noah in The Bible and Disney's delightful excerpt from Fantasia 2000 about Noah's Ark as seen through the eyes of Donald Duck.
But that is not enough to save this book. This book easily gets my one star rating which can be translated to "Run Away! Run away!".
Are you still with me? Good.
Larry Stone's purpose in Noah: The Real Story is to explain how the story of Noah could have happened. He believes in a literal interpretation of the bible story. The author discusses most of the questions that skeptics have asked about the ark story. How did Noah get all the animals on the ark, how did he feed them, was the flood local or global, where did it land and how did the animals get to the ark or spread out, etc. Pretty much all the corners are covered. He focuses on Noah's tale specifically with only a fleeting look at the geological and geographical problems the flood presents. For a skeptic like me, I found it an interesting read if only because it presents most of the talking points that Creationists and literal interpreters of the bible will set forward. My guess is that for most readers, it will be preaching to the choir.
Yet there were very troubling issues for me, like "Why now?" This brief book (under 200 pages) feels like a cut and paste job. It feels loosely structured and a bit sloppy, like when it throws in an interview by a Great Flood expert. There is quite a bit of talk about a developing Noah's Ark amusement ark that sounds like a commercial. The overall feel is a quick, not well thought out book that is hastily done. The fact that it was published when the commercial film Noah is about to be in the theaters pretty much confirms my position. My suspicion is it was hurried for publication specifically to ride on the film's coattail.
That is uncomfortable enough, but Stones' explanation for many things just aren't very good. Many are the usual creationist explanations. For instance he explains the number of animals referred to as "kind" in the Bible as being genus rather then species. That, according to the author, would bring the amount of animals from millions to a conservative 16,000. He seems to think the ark could havebeen able to hold that many animals. I doubt most others would agree with him. Then there is the questions about feeding, waste disposal, and keeping the predator from eating all those cute little vegetarians for over one year. Almost all of Stone's answer are pure speculation derived from the sparseness of details found in the Bible. Any explanation, scientific or historical, that contradicts the Bible is simply ignored.
One interesting aspect is that the author will actually say to questions, like the waste disposal problem, "We don't know". I find that a bit refreshing. Yet it is a totally different type of "I don't know" from the one that scientists will say. When a scientist says I don't know he means "I don't know but some day with the right discoveries and evidence we might." Stone's I don know is "I don't know but it means God took care of it". I'm not implying this. the author actually states "It means God took care of it."
It very important that I state that I am not reviewing this poorly because I disagree with it. I enjoy reading topics I have different views of, especially religious explanations of events, when they are well done. I even find Ken Ham's website Answers in Genesis quite entertaining and once in a while, like what Bill Nye said to Ham in their debate, "I learned something". I gave this book a poor review because I did not learn anything. It does not do a good job in expressing its viewpoint and it is hastily, even sloppily, written. As a book of Christian Apologetics or a Creationist perspective. you can do a whole lot better.
There were two areas I found informative. Stone gives a nice rundown of the attempts to find Noah's Ark which, according to legend, landed on Mount Arafat...but maybe not. He is also quick to note those claims that have been correctly deemed hoaxes. I also enjoyed his brief history of how Hollywood has treated the story of Noah although he left out my two favorites: John Huston's performance as Noah in The Bible and Disney's delightful excerpt from Fantasia 2000 about Noah's Ark as seen through the eyes of Donald Duck.
But that is not enough to save this book. This book easily gets my one star rating which can be translated to "Run Away! Run away!".
February 16, 2014
I thought this book would be an interesting follow-up to the Nye-Ham debate and might expand upon some of the Creationist evidence for a literal interpretation of Genesis. That may be what the author's goal was, but I found the results lackluster.
I'm going to put aside the several references to Wikipedia for a moment . . . OK, no I'm not. You should never - ever - use Wikipedia as a source. My 4th grader knows that. My 6th grader would be marked down for doing that in a paper. Why, oh why, is this published this way. Wikipedia is never an original source, so I have to assume that this was just thrown together with too much haste to bother looking more carefully for where the information came from.
The writing was also disjointed and unprofessional. I felt like I was reading someone's blog rather than a professionally written, edited, and published nonfiction book. The author is all over the place talking about everything from ancient myths that sound similar to the story of Noah to future plans of Ark related theme parks.
The most interesting part of this book is the chapter that retells stories of people who have claimed to have found, seen, or heard of others finding the ark. However, the author does not make any attempt to analyze which stories are more creditable or likely to be true. He just throws them all together and forms no conclusion.
The questions that non-Christians ask about Noah's ark are treated the same way. The author gives a few possible answers, including the standard "we just trust God took care of it," and moves on. There is not much new in this book that isn't covered better in the notes in my study Bible or in essays at Answers in Genesis.
This book truly had some potential, but I don't believe it has spent enough time being expanded and edited.
I'm going to put aside the several references to Wikipedia for a moment . . . OK, no I'm not. You should never - ever - use Wikipedia as a source. My 4th grader knows that. My 6th grader would be marked down for doing that in a paper. Why, oh why, is this published this way. Wikipedia is never an original source, so I have to assume that this was just thrown together with too much haste to bother looking more carefully for where the information came from.
The writing was also disjointed and unprofessional. I felt like I was reading someone's blog rather than a professionally written, edited, and published nonfiction book. The author is all over the place talking about everything from ancient myths that sound similar to the story of Noah to future plans of Ark related theme parks.
The most interesting part of this book is the chapter that retells stories of people who have claimed to have found, seen, or heard of others finding the ark. However, the author does not make any attempt to analyze which stories are more creditable or likely to be true. He just throws them all together and forms no conclusion.
The questions that non-Christians ask about Noah's ark are treated the same way. The author gives a few possible answers, including the standard "we just trust God took care of it," and moves on. There is not much new in this book that isn't covered better in the notes in my study Bible or in essays at Answers in Genesis.
This book truly had some potential, but I don't believe it has spent enough time being expanded and edited.
February 17, 2014
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I got a copy of this book, looking to get more answers about the whole Noah and global flood story. I was horribly disappointed in this book. Let me address some of the questions this book is supposed to answer...
1. The Noah story as told in the Bible: anyone who has a bible can look it up in Genesis. You don't have a Bible, here's a link to it in BibleGateway. Nothing new here, but a good introduction.
2. Flood stories around the world: yes, there are many cultures around the world with flood stories, some of them eerily similar to the Bible story...but are they just knock-offs of the Bible version as Judaism melded with the cultures around it and Christians proselytized?
3. Was the Flood global or local? No true answer is given here....instead, its a non-answer that becomes very often repeated in this book: I don't know, maybe, it's possible, if you believe it. "You have to presuppose that the account in the Bible is true."
4. How big was the ark and how was it built? We all know how big the ark was, its been researched before, nothing new. The author does admit that he has absolutely no idea what type of wood or tar made up the ark.
5. How did Noah gather and take care of the animals? Ooooh, some interesting ingenious engineering here, but did it happen? No real answers here, again, you have to believe that it happened to see the possibilities.
Again, this book was extremely disappointing in the lack of answers when the title itself leads a reader to believe that definitive answers are within the pages.
I got a copy of this book, looking to get more answers about the whole Noah and global flood story. I was horribly disappointed in this book. Let me address some of the questions this book is supposed to answer...
1. The Noah story as told in the Bible: anyone who has a bible can look it up in Genesis. You don't have a Bible, here's a link to it in BibleGateway. Nothing new here, but a good introduction.
2. Flood stories around the world: yes, there are many cultures around the world with flood stories, some of them eerily similar to the Bible story...but are they just knock-offs of the Bible version as Judaism melded with the cultures around it and Christians proselytized?
3. Was the Flood global or local? No true answer is given here....instead, its a non-answer that becomes very often repeated in this book: I don't know, maybe, it's possible, if you believe it. "You have to presuppose that the account in the Bible is true."
4. How big was the ark and how was it built? We all know how big the ark was, its been researched before, nothing new. The author does admit that he has absolutely no idea what type of wood or tar made up the ark.
5. How did Noah gather and take care of the animals? Ooooh, some interesting ingenious engineering here, but did it happen? No real answers here, again, you have to believe that it happened to see the possibilities.
Again, this book was extremely disappointing in the lack of answers when the title itself leads a reader to believe that definitive answers are within the pages.
August 10, 2021
Not what I expected. I thought this would either be a literary or anthropological examination of the story, but it is neither. The book is a hodgepodge of other people’s theories, ideas and quotes, and – doesn’t come to any conclusions of his own, merely regurgitating everything he has read and takes it at face value, from theories of a local Sumerian flood to a global level act of God to dinosaurs on the Ark. (The dinosaurs was when he really started to lose me.) He could have still come to the noticeable conclusion that this story clearly had a large cultural impact that still reverberates today, but he can’t even make that obvious point.
August 6, 2017
This is a very informative look at all things Noah! The good and the bad. The real and the fake! Definitely glad this item is in my library!
June 11, 2019
Favors a young-earth, global flood. Easy read, not very technical.
March 24, 2021
This book is a very easy read, but I wish stone had done more citations and provided more information. It was okay, but I felt like it really should have included a lot more information.
January 31, 2023
A book with two views: the believers verses the non believers on the topic of Noah. Great for those looking for perspective
August 10, 2014
Title: Noah - The Real Story
Author: Larry Story
Publisher: Kingsley Books
Published: 2-10-2014
ISBN: 9780988892330
E-Book ASIN: B00ICYARVS
Pages: 176
Genre: Religious
Tags: Bible Stories, History,
Overall Rating: Excellent 5.0
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Reviewer: DelAnne
Like many O have heard and read the stories from the Bible all my life. I in turn have passed them on to the next generation. Enjoying them as much as I read them to my nieces and nephews and now to my great-nieces and great-nephews. From the beginning of Creation to the ejection of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. From Noah and the flood to the parting of the Red Sea. From, the birth of Christ to His crucifixion on to His resurrection and ascension to heaven. From Genesis to Revelation, the beginning to the end. I know them well, but I never thought about the same stories being part of other cultures and nor just Christianity.
Noah's Ark is one of the all time favorites of young and old alike. What is not to find exciting, standing up in defiance of the masses for something or someone you truly believe in, The amassing of the largest collection of animals in history, which according to Noah: The Real Story that would be over sixteen thousand animals which includes reptiles, birds and mammals. A whole world washed clean by the hand of God Himself.
Noah: The Real Story goes one step beyond and tells of stories from Chinese, Native American, Greek and other cultures that tell of similar stories Noah's and the Ark in their histories. The book also goes on to give plausible explanations for how Noah and his household could care for and feed so many animals, keep the air from becoming toxic and dispose of all the waste. Where did they store the food to keep it dry and safe from contamination? Did you know their are even places where people have replicated the Ark in design size that you can go and see how truly huge it was?
The illustrations and pictures depict the varying references beautifully. This is a truly amazing book for those that want to know more about this popular story and the effect the event had on the world you will want to pick up a copy for yourself today. You will not regret it.
Author: Larry Story
Publisher: Kingsley Books
Published: 2-10-2014
ISBN: 9780988892330
E-Book ASIN: B00ICYARVS
Pages: 176
Genre: Religious
Tags: Bible Stories, History,
Overall Rating: Excellent 5.0
Reviewed For: NetGalley
Reviewer: DelAnne
Like many O have heard and read the stories from the Bible all my life. I in turn have passed them on to the next generation. Enjoying them as much as I read them to my nieces and nephews and now to my great-nieces and great-nephews. From the beginning of Creation to the ejection of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. From Noah and the flood to the parting of the Red Sea. From, the birth of Christ to His crucifixion on to His resurrection and ascension to heaven. From Genesis to Revelation, the beginning to the end. I know them well, but I never thought about the same stories being part of other cultures and nor just Christianity.
Noah's Ark is one of the all time favorites of young and old alike. What is not to find exciting, standing up in defiance of the masses for something or someone you truly believe in, The amassing of the largest collection of animals in history, which according to Noah: The Real Story that would be over sixteen thousand animals which includes reptiles, birds and mammals. A whole world washed clean by the hand of God Himself.
Noah: The Real Story goes one step beyond and tells of stories from Chinese, Native American, Greek and other cultures that tell of similar stories Noah's and the Ark in their histories. The book also goes on to give plausible explanations for how Noah and his household could care for and feed so many animals, keep the air from becoming toxic and dispose of all the waste. Where did they store the food to keep it dry and safe from contamination? Did you know their are even places where people have replicated the Ark in design size that you can go and see how truly huge it was?
The illustrations and pictures depict the varying references beautifully. This is a truly amazing book for those that want to know more about this popular story and the effect the event had on the world you will want to pick up a copy for yourself today. You will not regret it.
March 8, 2014
Noah: The Real Story
by Larry Stone
I was excited to have the opportunity to review this book. It had been a while since I had looked at anything on Noah and the ark, and I was generally interested in seeing a perspective and current thoughts.
Regardless of beliefs about the fact or fiction of Noah, I was disappointed in the book. It raised questions, which it never answered. It appeared as a series of notes on the topic that needed checking for validity and editing.
The points it raises in the book are valid, and some of the questions that go unanswered have been satisfactory explained in the past. Larry Stone, the author, may have made better use of his time with further research particularly in scholarly texts and rewriting in layman’s terms, thus providing some answers with a basis of validity.
Many would claim that the book was hurried put together and published in time for the Russel Crowe movie “Noah”.
The book attempts to answer questions like how Noah build the boat, how he feed the animals, whether all the animals of just representatives of species were included, and how Noah dealt with tonnes of animal waste daily.
Then there is the chapters on various Noah related theme parks around the world and the sell job of convincing the reader to visit one. Finally the book discusses the next world disaster and how mankind, as well as animals and plants will survive it.
Having read material better researched and written in the past, I tend to believe the literal story of Noah and the Ark. Larry Stone’s book Noah: The Real Story, would not have convinced me, and would have left me with more questions than answers.
I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had answered questions, and been better edited.
by Larry Stone
I was excited to have the opportunity to review this book. It had been a while since I had looked at anything on Noah and the ark, and I was generally interested in seeing a perspective and current thoughts.
Regardless of beliefs about the fact or fiction of Noah, I was disappointed in the book. It raised questions, which it never answered. It appeared as a series of notes on the topic that needed checking for validity and editing.
The points it raises in the book are valid, and some of the questions that go unanswered have been satisfactory explained in the past. Larry Stone, the author, may have made better use of his time with further research particularly in scholarly texts and rewriting in layman’s terms, thus providing some answers with a basis of validity.
Many would claim that the book was hurried put together and published in time for the Russel Crowe movie “Noah”.
The book attempts to answer questions like how Noah build the boat, how he feed the animals, whether all the animals of just representatives of species were included, and how Noah dealt with tonnes of animal waste daily.
Then there is the chapters on various Noah related theme parks around the world and the sell job of convincing the reader to visit one. Finally the book discusses the next world disaster and how mankind, as well as animals and plants will survive it.
Having read material better researched and written in the past, I tend to believe the literal story of Noah and the Ark. Larry Stone’s book Noah: The Real Story, would not have convinced me, and would have left me with more questions than answers.
I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had answered questions, and been better edited.
March 21, 2014
Everything you ever wanted to know or ask about Noah and his ark is here clearly and concisely described and is a wonderful introduction to the subject. Larry Stone is clearly a man of faith but he nevertheless remains objective at all times and gives all sides and opinions impartially. The book is filled with fascinating facts and conjectures and based on meticulous research.
The story of Noah is surely one of the most well-known and well-loved stories from the bible and there can’t be many in the western world who aren’t familiar with at least the basic storyline. But the Bible doesn’t have a monopoly on flood stories and Stone explores other myths and tales as well. He examines the practicalities of building an ark, the problems of getting all those animals on board. Did the actual ark survive? Many believe that it ended up on Mount Ararat and to this day people still search for it. Or is the story just an allegory? Noah survived the flood – is there a lesson to be learnt about surviving any future apocalypse? Larry Stone freely admits he doesn’t know all the answers, and suspects we never will. But in an eminently readable and accessible way he looks at the story from all angles, and there is much to be enjoyed here for believer and non-believer alike. Published to coincide with the latest film version of the story from Darren Aronofsky, this is an entertaining and well-researched book and is accompanied by a very good website.
The story of Noah is surely one of the most well-known and well-loved stories from the bible and there can’t be many in the western world who aren’t familiar with at least the basic storyline. But the Bible doesn’t have a monopoly on flood stories and Stone explores other myths and tales as well. He examines the practicalities of building an ark, the problems of getting all those animals on board. Did the actual ark survive? Many believe that it ended up on Mount Ararat and to this day people still search for it. Or is the story just an allegory? Noah survived the flood – is there a lesson to be learnt about surviving any future apocalypse? Larry Stone freely admits he doesn’t know all the answers, and suspects we never will. But in an eminently readable and accessible way he looks at the story from all angles, and there is much to be enjoyed here for believer and non-believer alike. Published to coincide with the latest film version of the story from Darren Aronofsky, this is an entertaining and well-researched book and is accompanied by a very good website.
October 19, 2020
I give the author large amounts of credit for writing a book like this. It could not have been easy to piece together all of these details, places, times and quotes. And I can only imagine it was a long time in the making.That said, it appears that this book was written almost as a companion for Aronofsky’s 2014 movie as it discusses it quite in depth. It also, sadly, failed to deliver on its promise to “tell the real story”. Instead there was a lot of speculation that has appeared in several other books, movies, etc. It was well written and I was able to finish it in one sitting (about 2 hours and I had a three year old running around as well) Unfortunately, I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone unless you are bored and want to reread the same things that history and speculation have already covered with no new results or answers
March 1, 2014
I wasn't planning on any more nonfiction this week, but this was a interesting and easy. Noah's Ark, is it a story or an historical event? Does natural history allow for such a devastating natural disaster? Is there really concrete evidence that this really happened? Could this happen again? If nothing else, Larry Stone's book kept my attention and has me thinking about the future of the Earth. It is a quick read and worth taking the time to read. What do I believe? Not sure yet.
March 7, 2014
I enjoyed reading this book . Even thought it is clearly written from a believers point of view, I liked that it did give some differ opionons and let the reader make up their own mind as to wether or not the flood story was true. I do wish that it had a little more in depth information and didn't repeat the same information several times at different times in the book. Still, I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't know any of the background studies done on the ark.
July 25, 2016
Very nicely done. I like to see a man of faith bringing clear-eyed logic to the question, presenting arguments both for and against a literal deluge and downpour that wiped out humanity nearly 5,000 years ago.
I believe what I believe, without frothing at the mouth and screaming, "You're all going to hell!"
I believe what I believe, without frothing at the mouth and screaming, "You're all going to hell!"
February 15, 2015
I was so excited to read this story and sad to say it was not what I was expecting. I am not downing the writer or saying that he did a poor job; I am just saying it wasn't what I was looking for. I was expecting the book to be more informative on the Bible facts and not the opinions of a couple of doctors.
October 18, 2016
A, so so read. Presents a lot references to differing cultures and how the Noahanic Flood was recorded by them. Also a good amount of research into the logistics involved in making such a voyage happen, and treks to find the Ark itself.
January 23, 2015
This is such a wonderful book! It makes you think, and gives you many questions as well as answers.
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