Wide as the Waters

The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired

De: Benson Bobrick

Narrado por: Malcolm Hillgartner

Next to the Bible itself, the English Bible was - and is - the most influential book ever published.

The most famous of all English Bibles, the King James Version, was the culmination of centuries of work by various translators, from John Wycliffe, the 14 century catalyst of English Bible translation, to the committee of scholars who collaborated on the King James translation. Wide as the Waters examines the life and work of Wycliffe and recounts the tribulations of his successors, including William Tyndale, who was martyred, Miles Coverdale, and others who came to bitter ends. It traces the story of the English Bible through the tumultuous reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor, and Elizabeth I, a time of fierce contest between Catholics and Protestants in England, as the struggle to establish a vernacular Bible was fought among competing factions. In the course of that struggle, Sir Thomas More, later made a Catholic saint, helped orchestrate the assault on the English Bible, only to find his own true faith the plaything of his king.

Wide as the Waters is a story about a crucial epoch in the history of Christianity, about the English language and society, and about a book that changed the course of human events.

©2001 Benson Bobrick (P)2021 Tantor

I love this book and loved listening to it again.

The story of the religious conflicts in England is compelling. The fight of visionary people to gain an vernacular English translation unfolded as part of the larger conflicts of the reformation. And Bobrick makes an interesting case that the English bibles led directly to the ideas of equality and self-determination that animated the American Revolution. The reading is clear and expressive, making complex ideas easily understandable.

Very imformative

The beginning of the book was hard to get into, however, it quickly turned into a informative account of the how we got the English Bible. There are many account of how the kings and queens of England played a part in getting the English Bible, these account were very interesting. The book also shows how the English Bible effected the outcome of the government in England and as a direct result the government of America. The closing of the book was abrupt and without any fireworks.