Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible, 1611-2011

  • By: Melvyn Bragg
  • Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
  • Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (56 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible, 1611-2011 cover art

The Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible, 1611-2011

By: Melvyn Bragg
Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Unimaginable cover art
The Adventure of English cover art
The Complete King James Version Audio Bible cover art
Twelve Books That Changed the World cover art
One Nation, Under Gods cover art
How Christianity Changed the World cover art
The Faerie Queene cover art
The Ecclesiastical History of the English People cover art
I Never Thought I'd See the Day! cover art
Faith of Our Fathers cover art
God of All Things cover art
The Mormonizing of America cover art
The Mormon People cover art
Christian Child, Atheist Adult cover art
Is This the End? cover art
ReGrace cover art

Summary

The King James Bible has often been called ‘the Book of Books’ both in itself and in what it stands for. Since its publication in 1611 it has been the best-selling book in the world, and many believe it has had the greatest impact. The King James Bible has spread the Protestant faith. It has also been the greatest influence on the enrichment of the English language and its literature. It has been the Bible of wars from the British Civil War in the 17th century to the American Civil War two centuries later, and it has been carried into battle in innumerable conflicts since then.

Its influence on social movements - particularly involving women in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries - and politics was profound. It was crucial to the growth of democracy. It was integral to the abolition of slavery and it defined attitudes to modern science, education and sex.

Fascinating and eye-opening, The Book of Books reveals the extraordinary and still-felt impact of a work created 400 years ago. Stephen Thorne reads Melvyn Bragg’s definitive history of the King James Bible.

©2011 Melvyn Bragg (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Book of Books: The Radical Impact of the King James Bible, 1611-2011

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    25
  • 4 Stars
    18
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    2
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    15
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    14
  • 4 Stars
    8
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Beware!

Unfortunately the reader has a speech impediment.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting

This type of book is why I started listening to audio books as although I have a great interest in history it can sometimes be hard slog reading through. As an atheist but brought up a Presbyterian in Scotland I am acutely aware of religious differences in the UK. Too many people dismiss the role that religion has and still continues to play in our lives, the King James bible changed the face of history and played a massive part in freeing the peasants and opening up education to the masses.
I don't believe in God and the bible is full of stories written by men but there is no mistaking the profound affect on history.

Read this book regardless of your religious beliefs to discover how it changed the face of Britain, Europe and the Americas.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely wonderful ..........

This is among the best books I have ever "read". It was so interesting,brilliantly written and narrated. I will listen again because although dense with facts it is not at all tedious ... on the contrary it is totally absorbing. Congratulations Melyn Bragg, this is a classic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Antagonistic to Christianity & historical errors

Enjoyed this initially but became dismayed by authors antagonism to Christianity and the factual inconsistencies, Cromwell was certainly not Presbyterian - he was fighting the Presbyterians! Found it very frustrating so had no desire to continue listening.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

worth a read but keep a large pinch of salt handy!

An interesting sketched history of the KJV but when the author gets into opinion it gets murky. At times it seemed that Mr Bragg was making the case that this book was responsible for all good things and all doers of good things that have ever existed, which seems a bit weak to me. I almost gave up on the book after the annoying chapter on Richard Dawkins mainly because it seemed utterly inaccurate and unnecessary to me. I'm glad I kept going; we secularists are nothing if not open minded, to state the bleeding obvious.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Informative and wide ranging

Listened to it over a long period but was easy to come back to and the way it was presented was accessible and interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

melvyn's masterpiece

well read, very informative and full of fascinating facts but with a clear prochristian bias.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

I was disappointed with this book. I was expecting more of a history of the King James Bible rather than quite so much quoting from it, but I guess Melvyn Bragg is interested in language.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!