Rating: 
Summary: The Beauty of Words Evoking the Beauty of The Word
Review: God's Secretaries is a beautiful evocation of the making of the King James Bible, considered by many to be the most compelling version of the Bible ever published. Nicolson makes a powerful argument in support of this assertion. Nicolson's passion for the King James Bible permeates this work. It must be no easy task to use prose to describe a book that is held in such high regard. I think Nicolson has pulled this task off with grace and ease.The first portion of the book puts the process of translation into the context of the early Jacobean era. Nicolson traces the end of the Elizabethan era and the ascension of James I (James VI of Scotland) to the throne of England in 1603. There were numerous issues of state and theology (the two are inexorably mixed) that James needed to navigate. James I, was the head of the English church (referred to here as the Anglican church) that operated on a theological level that was betwixt and between Catholicism and the `purer' (for wont of a better adjective) Protestantism of Calvin and Luther (to name two) that had spread like wildfire across the continent and had made serious inroads into English religious life. Those Protestants were referred to as nonconformists in England because their practice did not conform to the Anglican tradition. Nicolson does an admirable job of setting out the doctrinal and political justifications for this tripartite divide. At its most superficial level, Catholicism because of its focus on the religious dominance of Rome and the Pope served to lessen the authority of the crown because it split the allegiance of the faithful and belied the critical notion that the King's authority flowed directly from God without reference to or reliance on the Pope. The differences between nonconformists and Anglicans were more doctrinal but those differences were as politically laden, if not more so, than those with the Catholic Church. Specifically, the centerpiece of the Anglican Church was the Altar. The idea of the `ceremony' of Christianity took pride of place. There was also a clear hierarchy in the form of the King, Archbishops, and Priests tasked with reading and interpreting God's words. By contrast, the centerpiece of the nonconformist rite was the pulpit. The idea of the word of God took pride of place. Further, nonconformists believed that the individual had the ability to understand the word of God and that the individual could have a personal relationship with God without the guidance of Bishops, Archbishops, or the King. The difference in focus was a direct and immediate threat to the King's authority. If an individual could derive divine guidance without recourse to the church or King the very need for a King and that King's divine right to rule, would be (and was) called into question. Nicolson devotes the rest of his book to the creation of the King James Bible by a committee of generally unknown churchmen and scholars. Split into groups and assigned different books of the Old and New Testaments the translators (as they were known) were provided with earlier versions (specifically the Geneva and Tyndale versions) and tasked with creating a new, `improved' version. The translators included both Anglicans and nonconformists. Nicolson provides compelling reasons why this committee was so constructed. It seems clear that James I intended to co-opt a certain moderate segment of the nonconformist tradition and in so doing render them and their flocks less likely to challenge to the authority of royal rule. If successful such a co-option would make his reign less vulnerable from that side of the religious divide. Nicolson infers that the creation of a universally accepted version of the Bible would mitigate doctrinal differences making a ceremony out of the word itself. Focusing more attention on the `word' might appease some nonconformists. Creating a version rich and rife with meaning also had certain ceremonial aspects that might appease the Anglican powers that feared undue focus on the word. It was an admirable goal even if the bloody civil war that followed a mere 30 years or so from its publication proved the attempt futile. The most important element of the book for me lies with Nicolson's unrelenting love for the words created by this `great commission'. Nicolson does acknowledge that much of the core text of the King James Bible is freely adopted from the Tyndale version. He does show, however, how the change of only one or two words can turn "those words into a tangible experience" that enhances the beauty and power of the previous text. Nicolson is also not averse to castigating contemporary versions of the Bible that denude the language of meaning for the sake of making it a bit easier to read. Nicolson cites T.S. Eliot's admonition of the New English Bible that it "astonishes in its combination of the vulgar, the trivial, and the pedantic." Nicolson does seem more kindly disposed to James I than may be warranted. He notes James' profligate spending and sensual appetite only in passing. However, my impression was that the beauty and power of the Bible prepared at his direction and published under his name covered a multitude of sins and that James' other actions were not particularly relevant to the creation of `his' Bible.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Non-scholarly Treatment
Review: Having read McGrath's work as well as Bobrick's, I looked forward to reading Nicolson's take on the translating of the King James Version of the Bible.
Each of the three have a different emphasis: McGrath focuses on the theological aspects, with a look at the history of the age, Bobrick looks more at the history and the results of the translation of the Bible into English in general rather than focusing on just the King James. Nicolson looks more at the individuals involved in the translation process, and the cultural environment that produced the KJV.
Nicolson does an outstanding job of pointing out the warts in the lives of each translator that he discusses. He also points out the contradictions in their lives, showing people of remarkable piety and humility who were quite willing to parlay their ecclesiastical positions into lucrative political and social positions. This was not an age of "Be ye separate". It was a majestic age, and that fact is shown in the language of the King James Bible.
This is not a book that will address the current KJVOnly controversy, which I was relieved to discover. It is simply a very accessable work that highlights the personalities and culture that produced a work that, in spite of it's deficiencies and archaic language (even then!) has served the church of Christ quite ably for the past four hundred years. Along with the two works I mention at the beginning of this review, this book makes a good contribution to the modern literature on the subject, and will serve as a good introduction for those who are just beginning their reading on this fascinating subject.
Rating: 
Summary: laughable at best
Review: I am a history student working toward earning a PhD in history. I have long lost count of how many history books and source documents I have read for classes. This is without a doubt one of the very worst. Nicolson is not a professional historian and it shows on every page. No real historian would make a comment like "Sir Robert Carey... a court dandy- just the sort of glamorous and rather sexy man to whom James was instinctively drawn." Such comments reek of unprofession and add nothing to the thesis of this book. This is not a problem, however, since this book actually has no thesis, but rambles aimlessly from one semi-amusing story to another. The book has no main point and no overarching argument. Nicolson, whose other book is a book about islands, is in no real position to write a book about King James with any authority. In short, this is an awful book from a historian's perspective, and any number of books do a far better job telling about these events. Recommended for people who want a brief overview of King James and his Bible, but not for anyone seriously interested in academic history. If you are looking for a good book on James and his reign, read "King James VI and I and the Reunion of Christendom" by W.B. Patterson. For a work based closely on the King James Bible itself "In The Beginning" by Alister McGrath is in every way superior to this "work."
Rating:
Summary: Give us this day our daily "Read"....
Review: I enjoyed this book very, very much. At times, it is not an easy read but I don't seek out books that won't give challenge. That's not to say it's a very difficult book to get through---certainly not---but there are some pages that require some concentration. It reads a bit like a PBS documentary as there are numerous "asides" injected by the writer.
The book gave me some new insight into the mentality of the time---a time which has great importance to our own American history.
And, in the end, I was actually a little sorry to have it over.
In all, very enjoyable! Forget what that nitwit "English Major" had to say. The book is excellent.
Lancha
Rating:
Summary: Bible translation as the product of a time
Review: I finally heard a term used to describe books such as this and the Michelangelo book I mentioned a few weeks ago -- a micro-history. This books use a particular historical figure or event to illuminate the period. This book was mentioned in some publication, I can't remember which, and I added it to my growing collection of books to get from the library. The reign of King James I was tumultuous and filled with political and religious fighting. James sought to use a new translation of the Bible to help bridge the growing gap between the traditional Chruch of England and the growing number of Puritan's who sought a simpler, purer and less Roman Catholic religion. Instead, the disclusion of many, more radical Puritan leaders seems to have only pushed the country close to the Civil War that would occur a few decades later. Thime time period is important for American's, as the persecution of Purtains in England led directly to their arrival in America. Already, at the very beginning of its history, America was filled with radicals not content with the status quo in England. Given a choice of surrender to the traditional dogma, imprisonment or exile, they chose to leave their home and create a new life based on their own beliefs. Even in America, though, the thought of religious freedom was a moot point. Just like James and his bishops in England, they demanded strict adherence to their religious beliefs. God's Secretaries is an illuminating story of an often-ignored period of history and the creation of one of the most well-known translations of the Bible in the world today. In time, even the Puritans began to use the translation as their own official text, despite their exclusion during its development.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting presentation of a questionable thesis
Review: I had read a favorable review of this book in a religious publication that is usually trusworthy, but found the praise given to this book to have been excessive. The premise of the author, with which as a studentof history I agree, is that the King James/Authorized Version was written to be ***the*** bible of the Church of England, to replace both the unpopular Great Bible of the established church and the more popular but calvinist Geneva Bible of the Puritans. The author goes into great detail on the lives of the men (sorry, no women involved here) who translated the text. For the most part the information is interesting, but at times I was left with the impression that the author was having too much fun dragging up the character imperfections of the translators, most especially Bishop Lancelot Andrewes; at time the test comes of as a gossip column. The discussion on the method of translation, and the use of multiple existing translations is good and I learned alot from it. A major citicism is that the underlying translation the translators used, that of William Tyndale, is never given an accurate amount of recognition. It cannot be ignored, but it is minimized at every opportunity, even though it's been estimated that at least 80% of the New Testament comes from this version, which leads into yet a more important criticism. The author consistently shows how the translators "improved" the earlier versions by way of English style. Whereas Tyndale's version was clear, the King James is more expansive, more of what the author describes as "majestic." This majesty is arrived at on occasion at the point of clarity, and one must question whether it's better to understand the Bible clearly or to enjoy its beautiful language, and the impression I was left with is that the author believes that the King James Bibleis the summit of English perfection, and that every other version ever since has not measured up. For beauty this may be true, but in a religious text such as the Bible, clarity and accuracy are more important than beauty.
Rating:
Summary: A Mysical Book
Review: I listened to the author during his TV discussion of his book and was enthralled by his knowledge, wit and command of the Engllish language. I had considered the KJV dead till I heard Mr. Nicolson bring it, and those who took part in its translation, alive in all it majesty and, what modern translation miss and cannot accomplish, mystery and awe. The author puts you back into the culture and times that produced this great work and helps you understand why we can't go home again in recreating such a translation today. Much of that has to do with our corssing the cultual evolutionary line into the Enlightenment where logic and understanding superceed mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Mediocre treatment, a dry read
Review: I picked this book up when I read a positive review in a local newspaper. It sounded like a book that would be very interesting. However, I was wrong. Nicolson's style tends to drag, and when he decided to include major quotes in the exact language from the 17th century--well, I, for one could not understand what most of the quotes were saying without studying each one. Two-thirds of the way through the book, I gave up and didn't finish it, which is very unlike me. Rarely do I quit a book when I have made such an investment of time and money. Now that I've had my appetite whetted on this subject of translating the KJV, I might need to look for other treatments, as I've heard there are some better overviews. So I'm sorry, but I just have to say that I was disappointed in God's Secretaries and am therefore not able to recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: God's Secretaries
Review: I suppose because the author is the descendant of Nigel Nicolson, of the Vita-Sackville West connection, reviewers are full of praise for this book. And it's subject matter is of interest to secular and religious readers alike. However, to say, as some have, that this is "elegantly" written is to put expectation and sheer fawning ahead of reality. Consider this clumsy sentence: "Even London, by far the biggest city in England, and on its way to becoming the biggest in Europe, over which on bad days a smog of coal smoke already hung, was still rural in its corners." Syntax doesn't get more tortured than than. This is not to mention sentences that sometimes reach beyond 65 words. It is as badly written a book as I have ever read and those reviewers who are carried away with the Nicolson name should consider carefully the limits of sycophantic behavior. The King of England was never treated better for less reason.
Rating:
Summary: Peoples of the book
Review: Intriguing history of the emergence by committee of the King James Version of the Bible in the reign of said King, in the time of the passing of Elizabethan times. This version is finally a mystery that isn't explained, although the overall collation of detail poses the enigma well. There are a few details one hadn't realized--that the language was itself somewhat archaic even for its own times, sixteenth century language already old-fashioned, and that the popularity of the book, after its initial poor showing, really began after the Civil War.
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