The Reader's Digest Bible: Illustrated Edition

by Reader's Digest Association

An illustrated edition of the Bible provides helpful introductions to each of the sixty-six books, marginal notes that clarify obscure references and terms, a timeline, and a comprehensive index. 20,000 first printing.

Genres: Religion, Reference

1008 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. is a global media and direct marketing company based in Chappaqua, New York, best known for its flagship publication founded in 1922, Reader's Digest. The company's headquarters are in New York City, where it moved from Pleasantville, New York.

The company was founded by DeWitt and Lila Wallace in 1922 with the first publication of Reader's Digest magazine, but has grown to include a diverse range of magazines, books, music, DVDs and online content.

Reviews

[Paul Curd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure whether to shelve this under fiction or non-fiction...

[Amy Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, that took a long time to read. I must clarify that I started reading this because I am an atheist and was about to embark on a Theology course. I chose this version as it was condensed and illustrated (as an Art History student this helped me understand and remember the stories). I read sporadically with long periods of wanting to give up during Deuteronomy and Numbers because they were so boring. The translation isn’t great but it’s understandable, and makes for a good starting point from which to explore other translations or versions. A lot of maps and historical timelines are also included which help enormously. However, due to its format there are no references to verses, which makes finding something in another version quite annoying.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abridged Bibles are exceptionally rare: this is the main one, and even this is hard to find. While Reader's Digest claims to 'condense' books - i.e. removing redundancies within the text rather than cutting out chunks - that's not really the case here. The wording could definitely slimmed down much more, instead whole sections are left out. Then again, nothing major is missing so overall the process works. The translation is an easily readable but elegant NKJV with little deviation. If you want to sit down and read the 'whole bible' quickly, this is the book for you.

[Kat Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

It reads like a story, that's why I like it.