Roland Boer

Overall, this book was very good and offered everything that I checked it out for. It wasn't, however, as easy or interesting of a read as I originally thought. This book is a collection of essays utilizing different Marxist scholars' work to analyze and criticize different selections from the Hebrew Bible. Be aware: this book is not for anyone who hasn't read or studied the works of any Marxist scholar who is cited in this book. I had read most but not all of them and had to do quite a bit show more of studying and reading outside of this book just to understand certain chapters. If you are fairly versed in Marxist theory or looking for a book to springboard you into many of the important scholars, I would definitely read this book. show less

Starts with George Sorel and then proceeds to use the Hexateuch as a mythic register for detailing and elaborating the contemporary right's use of political myth, framed by Bloch in particular (and paying special attention to "the cunning of myth"). Ends with a call for the (materially) emancipatory potential implicit in pushing the myths of the right to realization and collapse. A nice prologue to Evan Calder Williams.