"Feld displays a remarkable talent for balancing accessible language with depth of thought and rigorous research, all while exercising a penetrating insight for how ancient conflicts factor into contemporary discourse. Stellar scholarship makes this an essential religious and cultural history."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Feld's mode of unpacking [biblical] history is unique. . . . He suggests that these legal [texts of the Torah], which were not edited for cohesion as the narrative sections were, demonstrate. . . a revolution in the religious progression of the Israelites. . . . The accessibility of Feld’s writing, and the conclusions he draws about how today's Judaism is a product of these revolutions, makes The Book of Revolutions a valuable addition to the bookshelves of lay readers and academics alike."—Jonathan Fass, Jewish Book Council
"The weaving together of solid academics and committed religiosity, scholarly hypothesis and lived faith, makes this book a gem among the many volumes devoted to the study of the Pentateuch. And a Christian reader has much to learn."—Commonweal Magazine
"A pleasure to read. Those readers who are biblically literate will find the author's reconstruction of the Torah's composition fascinating. Those beginning a study of the Torah could find no better way to begin the encounter with the Bible's foundational texts."—Bible Today
"[Feld's] exemplary reader-friendly work of critical biblical scholarship respects traditional approaches in demonstrating that pluralism, not singularity, better explains the origins of the Torah, its conflicting teachings, and the multiplicity of traditions that molded Jewish belief and practice from antiquity to the present."—Zev Garber, Catholic Biblical Quarterly
"[A] really superb book. . . . I was so deeply impressed. . . . The book is so truly rich that no reasonably sized review can do justice to all of the questions that it raises. Indeed, I have already pressed the manuscript on friends with whom I hope to discuss the book at some length."—Tikkun
"Edward Feld's new book, The Book of Revolutions: The Battles of Priests, Prophets, and Kings That Birthed the Torah (JPS), is such a spectacular resource—so much so, that I confess that I could not put it down. . . . Move over Game of Thrones. There is far more intrigue here than we had ever imagined."—Religion News Service
"Feld insists that Jews 'have not grasped the Torah's truths in their entirety because the parts do not ultimately quite fit together.' The same is true for Christians and the New Testament. But it's the very effort to grasp that helps make the life of faith so lively and fascinating. That's what makes this book appropriate for anyone with a solid knowledge of Scripture, as well as a hunger to know more. And readers familiar with scholar Amy-Jill Levine's writings that place Christianity in its Jewish context will find Feld’s book especially useful."—Presbyterian Outlook
“In highlighting the innovative development of codes within biblical material while revealing their afterlife and influence, this substantive and stunning work succeeds in introducing the Torah to a new generation of general readers, all the while delighting more advanced readers in its sophisticated reflections.”—Adriane Leveen, author of Biblical Narratives of Israelites and Their Neighbors
“Outstanding. Feld breaks through simplistic notions of a monolithic biblical and later Jewish religion to reveal its multiplicity and richness. I learned quite a bit from his insights.”—Stephen A. Geller, Irma Cameron Milstein Professor of Bible, Jewish Theological Seminary
