For many people, the Bible is an obsession, to be worshipped, quoted, and argued about endlessly. But probably not one person in a thousand has actually read all the books in it or knows anything about how they came into existence. Furthermore, many extra-biblical books are very hard to find, and the English translations were often made by scholars several centuries ago, using impenetrably archaic language. Now all the hard work has been done for you in this easy to read summary. Now you can be a biblical expert - the easy way! ...written in modern English and is easy to comprehend by anyone. Timmons describes books in a storylike manner... -- Atheists United Newsletter, July 2003 A lot of intriguing information you were never taught in Sunday School ... including some really interesting alternative stories. -- Mensa Bulletin, September, 2003 This is an excellent short guide to Jewish/Christian writings and I highly recommend it. -- Secular Nation, Fourth Quarter, 2004 Heretofore it has required years of study, access to many rare books, and superhuman effort to cut through the recondite prose of these ancient books. Now all the hard work has been done for you in this easy to read summary. The aim of this volume is to be concise rather than exhaustive -- thus making available to general readers the main sources of Judeo-Christian thought, without the distraction of scholarly disputes. Even though many of these books did not end up in any authorized Bible, they have nevertheless been extremely influential in the evolution of religious traditions. To this day, sermons, theological doctrines, and Sunday school lessons are still based on these extra-canonical sources. For many people, the Bible is an obsession, to be worshipped, quoted, and argued about endlessly. But probably not one person in a thousand has actually read all the books in it or knows anything about how they came into existence. Furthermore, many extra-biblical books are very hard to find, and the English translations were often made by scholars several centuries ago, using impenetrably archaic language. Now all the hard work has been done for you in this easy to read summary. Now YOU can be a biblical expert -- the easy way With a Ph.D. in Mass Communications from the University of Southern California and a teaching career spanning thirty years, Professor Timmons has conducted courses in virtually every aspect of Speech, Drama, Radio-TV-Film, Journalism, and Advertising. As head of the Motion Picture Department at Los Angeles Valley College in the North Hollywood area for 22 years he wrote two textbooks and produced hundreds of educational films. Since 1990 he has been listed in Who's Who in America and, following his retirement in 1992, he has devoted his time to scholarly writing and research.