The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Bible

a very good basic introduction for both reading and reference

This refers to the audio version of this book read by John Ratzenberger.

If you want to know the basic outline of the Bible, this book will serve that purpose. I am in no way a biblical scholar so I have no way of knowing if there were major parts left out, but the stories everyone is familiar with are here.

I have a few critiques:
There is almost no historical context. Even when introducing people like Darius there isn't even an explanation as to when this occurred or what else was going on in the region at the time. This would have provided some extra insight into the story.

The authors claim to be objective, but certainly come from an Evangelical point of view. They do not even acknowledge the Apocrypha exists, let alone include it in their summary. Also, they tend to quote the verses often quoted by Evangelicals and ignore verses that support Catholic theology. There is no, "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church." I don't recall hearing any of the verses that are used in the Hail Mary. Neither is the verse from James about "not by faith alone" present.

Speaking of James, they flatly state that he is the brother of Jesus. That will come as a shock to anyone who believes that Mary remained a virgin and knows that the Aramaic word for "brother" has broader meanings that include "cousin" and "relative." This presumption by the authors flies in the face of 2000 years of tradition to which more than a billion Catholics (and a lot of Protestants) subscribe.

An acknowledgement about some of the differences of biblical structure and interpretation that exist between the major segments of Christianity would have been a more honest way to write this book. Especially if you assume that a book like this will mostly be read by biblical novices who may not know that some great differences exist. ( )