Thomas Nelson’s the “NKJV Greatest Stories of the Bible” starts by delineating that the book is not a Bible, but is designed to be a compilation of the most well-loved and impacting stories from the Bible. In short I would agree with this description. However I would say that the cover of the book is a bit deceiving as it does look like a Bible. If you read it with the hope that it is a Bible you will be disappointed.
As with any book that bills itself as containing the best of or most beloved stories in the Bible, one might ask who decides what stories are the best. While I feel that the book does include a great many of the most loved stories in the Bible, I found myself thinking of stories that I would have included.
Nelson gives each story a title and for the most part I found them to be simple and accurate. Too often a title for a passage will influence and predispose one’s thoughts on a story. Sometimes this was ok, but often times I would prefer to simply read the passage of scripture and let it speak for itself. Nelson did a good job of making the titles to be simply descriptive without adversely affecting the passage for the most part.
The layout was simple and easy to navigate while using both the table of contents and the index. Also I was pleased the see the scripture references under the titles and the verses marked throughout the stories. I found this a helpful feature to use when comparing it with an actual Bible. Keep in mind while you are reading that it is in the NKJV translation and may differ from your normal Bible if you read another version.
In conclusion, I can see this book being a nice addition to one’s library and fitting in with books of a devotional style.
Note: I am a Nelson Book Reviewer: http://brb.thomasnelson.com/
