Rating: 
Summary: From Theocracy to Democracy
Review: Fascinating premise: the Bible and The New Testament, translated into vernacular language accessible to common men - English, ultimately gave the Western World the idea of equality of man, leading to the English Glorious Revolution, Democracy, and the American Revolution.This short (297 page) history of the translation of the bible from Hebrew to Greek, Latin and, with detours through German, to English, parallels - and perhaps causes - the transformation of the rule of England from Absolute to Constitutional Monarchy. It includes brief biographies of such giants as John Wycliffe - the first English translator - who in the late 14th century conceived the notion that scripture should be available directly to the people, without the mediation of the church, and William Tyndale, the second English translator, who building upon Wycliffe, managed wide distribution of his printed volume 100 years later. We also get nice mini-portraits of rulers as Henry VIII, Mary and Elizabeth. As a bonus to language mavens, the book details a number of changes to the structure of English adapted from the various source languages - such as the noun-of-noun superlative structure (holy-of-holies), and the re-ordering of modifier-noun structure (God's house) to noun-of-modifier (House of God). This is an exciting story filled with bold ideas, Church intrigue, heresies, assassination and martyrdom. It moves briskly, and connects a number of interesting dots I previously hadn't considered related.
Rating: 
Summary: Caveat Emptor
Review: Highly enjoyable, highly readable. Bobrick's research and presentation were top notch. The 'story' behind the published editions of "The Holy Bible" was fascinating and enlightening. The fact that each new Bible has been brought forth under ever changing spiritual/temporal conditions acting with and on each other has never been clearer. In the two centuries leading to the King James Version (and even unto the present in some cases) it was literaly a "matter of life and death" which version you endorsed, not to mention how you than decided to integrate the spirit of "The Word Of God" into your own life. It seems there will always be the need to "Procede with Caution"
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing, potted history
Review: I bought this book with enthusiasm but became disappointed..reads like a pastiche of other books on the period...lapses into monotonous textbook narrative lacking a distinctive point of view.
Rating:
Summary: more than just the story of the KJB
Review: I know that more recent books have been published on the same subject, but I'm not sure if they give quite as much history on the King James Bible. "God's Secretaries" came out recently, but I believe that is focused on the writing of the KJB itself, while "Wide as the Waters" goes back to give the history of the Greek and Latin translations and, most interestingly, Wycliffe's translations and the persecutions of his followers. Just a great retelling of an interesting story.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting biographies behind the Bible in English
Review: I read "Wide as the Waters" and Alister McGrath's "In the Beginning" back to back. As they are both new releases on the same topic, this review will be somewhat comparative. The strength of this work is that it reads like biography. Tyndale, Coverdale, Henry VIII, Wolsey, More, Cromwell, Elizabeth I and James I are well covered. What little information about the lives of the teams of King James Version translators is also included. "Wide as the Waters" gives as much attention to the politicians involved in the religious controversies surrounding the history of the Bible in English as it does to the theologians and translators. "Wide as the Waters" paints James I to be a canny statesman and competent theologian himself whereas "In the Beginning" makes James out to be Archbishop Bancroft's compliant puppet. One minor detail that was annoying about "Wide as the Waters" is its method of source citations. The author uses the quotes of others liberally but their attribution is placed in the back of the book and indexed only by chapter and page of the text. This made figuring out who was being quoted more cumbersome than necessary. Where "Wide as the Waters" fails to deliver is in its final chapter. The KJV's impact on the English language, literature, religion, and political thought is not very well defined in its last chapter. The connection between the KJV and the eventual English Civil War, Glorious Revolution, and American Revolution is rather fluffy. The book's subtitle "The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired" is simply a marketing tease not substantiated by the text. Read "Wide as the Waters" for fun but read McGrath's "In the Beginning" for understanding.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting biographies behind the Bible in English
Review: I read "Wide as the Waters" and Alister McGrath's "In the Beginning" back to back. As they are both new releases on the same topic, this review will be somewhat comparative. The strength of this work is that it reads like biography. Tyndale, Coverdale, Henry VIII, Wolsey, More, Cromwell, Elizabeth I and James I are well covered. What little information about the lives of the teams of King James Version translators is also included. "Wide as the Waters" gives as much attention to the politicians involved in the religious controversies surrounding the history of the Bible in English as it does to the theologians and translators. "Wide as the Waters" paints James I to be a canny statesman and competent theologian himself whereas "In the Beginning" makes James out to be Archbishop Bancroft's compliant puppet. One minor detail that was annoying about "Wide as the Waters" is its method of source citations. The author uses the quotes of others liberally but their attribution is placed in the back of the book and indexed only by chapter and page of the text. This made figuring out who was being quoted more cumbersome than necessary. Where "Wide as the Waters" fails to deliver is in its final chapter. The KJV's impact on the English language, literature, religion, and political thought is not very well defined in its last chapter. The connection between the KJV and the eventual English Civil War, Glorious Revolution, and American Revolution is rather fluffy. The book's subtitle "The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution It Inspired" is simply a marketing tease not substantiated by the text. Read "Wide as the Waters" for fun but read McGrath's "In the Beginning" for understanding.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent history!
Review: I very much appreciated Bobrick's detailed account of the evolution of the English language bible. Its a tragedy more Americans don't understand the origin of THEIR bible. I beg to differ with Mr. Bobrick's conclusion that the English language bible is the basis for American traditions found in the Bill of Rights. I feel he over looks the fact that German Americans are the largest ethnic group in the country (if not a significant minority at the time of the revoluiton) and that the Reformation began as a grass roots rebellion in Germany. I would argue the basis of American institutions of freeedom have more to do with the traditions of German protestant settlers than the King James verion of the bible. Other wise, I find the book to be an excellent historical study.
Rating:
Summary: Essential history
Review: The subject--the history of the translation of the English Bible--is something everyone should know about. It seems to me to be essential knowledge. The book by Bobrick is well written and interesting. It includes all of the vital background history--secular as well as religious. My only frustration is that Bobrick seems intent on including more information than is necessary to get a point across. He seem to catalogue information sometimes and that gets in the way of a smooth storyline, and diminishes interest. But kudos for him for an overall readable and fascinating story.
Rating:
Summary: Essential history
Review: The subject--the history of the translation of the English Bible--is something everyone should know about. It seems to me to be essential knowledge. The book by Bobrick is well written and interesting. It includes all of the vital background history--secular as well as religious. My only frustration is that Bobrick seems intent on including more information than is necessary to get a point across. He seem to catalogue information sometimes and that gets in the way of a smooth storyline, and diminishes interest. But kudos for him for an overall readable and fascinating story.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much commentary, not enough sound history
Review: The text fails to substantiate the thesis of the title (What revolution? The KJV was a translation meant to stop puritanical influences in the Church of England and gained acceptance only after the failure of the puritan revolution), relying quite a bit on the author's own opinions and prejudices. The author states that Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Laud was trying to drag England back to Romanism(?!) when he was actually just trying to enforce the use of the Prayer Book and KJV of the Bible. This is bad history based off of poor scholarship. If you want to read a much better (less imaginative, more fact based) text on the Authorized Version of 1611 and its place in English Church history, read McGrath's "In the Beginning."
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