The Harlot by the Side of the Road: Forbidden Tales of the Bible

"The stories you are about to read are some of the most violent and sexually explicit in all of Western literature. They are tales of human passion in all of its infinite variety: adultery, seduction, incest, rape, mutilation, assassination, torture, sacrifice, and murder. . . ."

Sex. Violence. Scandal. These are words we rarely associate with the sacred text of the Bible. Yet in this brilliant book, Jonathan Kirsch recounts shocking tales that have been suppressed by religious authorities throughout history. Kirsch places each story within the political and social context of its time, delves into the latest biblical scholarship to explain why each one was originally censored, and shows how these ancient narratives hold valuable lessons for all of us.

• Moses: A Life
• King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)
• God: A Biography
• The Woman Who Laughed at God: The Untold History of the Jewish People
• The Art of Biblical Narrative
• God Against The Gods: The History of the War Between Monotheism and Polytheism
• The Woman Who Laughed at God: The Untold History of the Jewish People (Compass)
• Subversive Sequels in the Bible
• The Exodus
• A History of the End of the World: How the Most Controversial Book in the Bible Changed the Course of Western Civilization