A review by paulataua
Paul: A Biography by N.T. Wright

I feel I needed to know and understand more about two crucial major religious figures who effected a major transformation in religion, St Paul and Luther , and I saw this book as a chance to have an introduction to Paul. It was readable and quite interesting in parts. There was an excellent warning at the outset about projecting modern interpretations onto past times, but I sensed that there were times when the author did not really heed his own warning. I think that is always going to be so difficult. I was also quite taken by a different understanding of heaven, which made a lot more sense than the one I grew up with. It was well written, but sadly I wanted less life and story and more ideas and discussion and the way they fitted into the world at that time. Yeah I know, what should I have expected from a biography? I think the real problem was not the book but the fact I chose that as the first venture into a world I knew so little about. For this reason, I will refrain from lowering its excellent ratings.