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This book is very interesting. Having been raised Catholic, I never learned much history about the Jewish community in ancient times. I loved how the author gave us a personal view of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans and, in fact, the Jews themselves. We follow Jacob's life. He is the son of a priest/carpenter. He loves the beautiful work his father creates but is torn by all the poverty he sees. His personal struggles with choosing sides in the unending debate about what the Torah really means is very detailed. The author gives us a lot to think about concerning the story of Jesus and how the Christian religion's Bible actually was created. The author offers lots of details about the different Jewish factions, the tales of Jesus, and the religions of the other societies under Roman rule. I especially noted the way ancient scrolls were translated and recopied. Since each faction had their own ideas concerning the law, you have to wonder which version is even close to being original. Also, as they are translated, you need to discover which area the person translating was from. Some words don't mean the same thing from one area of a country to another (just have a person from New York try to talk with a person from Alabama and you will see what I mean). It offers a lot to think about when deciding how much is really true.

There were two things that did detract from the story for me. The author's details about the Roman legions attire was interesting...the first time he described it. That much detail every time Jacob viewed the soldiers was annoying in my opinion.

The second thing that bothered me was the detailed sex scenes. I felt that they were unnecessary to the story and seemed to be added for shock value. The fact that Jacob had sex was irrelevant.

The book is well written and edited and for the most part I enjoyed it.