Dartmouth Bible

A Bible without the boring bits is, no doubt, the way many students saw The Dartmouth Bible, Professors Roy Chamberlain and Herman Feldman's innovative abridgment and annotation of the Old and New Testaments. The two profs contacted leaders of all faiths and denominations and Biblical scholars in a project that took Chamberlain a Methodist and Feldman a Jew 12 years to complete. Their collaboration reads more like a history than a religious tract. Sample headings: "Genesis: A Record of Racial Beginnings"; "The Wisdom of Solomon: A Blend of Jewish and Greek Thought"; "The Revelation of John: The Apocalypse, A Stirring Finale of the Biblical Symphony."

When Houghton-Mifflin brought out the first edition in 1950, its printing of 45,000 was sold out instantly and became a staple in college classrooms across the nation. Critics liked it, too. "This is far and away the best presentation of the Bible for the average reader yet produced," proclaimed The New York Times.

While the book is, sadly, out of print today, the Dartmouth Bookstore continues to sell every used copy it can find,

Two professors begat a new kind of Bible, and readers said that it was good