1. Many books have blurb on the back cover.
Wikipedia defines a blurb as "a short summary or some words of praise accompanying a creative work, without giving away any details, that is usually referring to the words on the back of the book jacket but also commonly seen on DVD and video cases, web portals and news websites." ("Blurb"; accessed 2011-06-24).
When I survey a book, I usually read the blurbs also.
For academic books, the blurbs will usually give you some feel for the content of the books.
2. But not all blurbs are useful.
Some academic writes favorable review for a book just because the author is a friend, colleague or former student.
I consider these blurbs a study in the abuse of the reviewer's academic reputation.
3. I am reading Bruce K. Waltke's An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach.
I am loving every minute of reading this book.
There are three review blurbs on the back cover of the book.
I could not agree more with the opinions of these three reviewers:
(a) J.I. Packer - A member of the board of governors and Professor of Theology at Regent College:
Exegetically and theologically it is all pure gold, and every teacher of the Old Testament will gain new insights from working through it. It is a fitting crown to a very distinguished career.
(b) John H. Sailhamer, PhD - Professor of Old Testament at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary:
Bruce Waltke's An Old Testament Theology is truly a great work from the hand and heart of a great evangelical biblical theologian. Bearing the marks not only of hard work and responsible exegesis, but also a lifetime of creative thought and reflection on central biblical texts, Waltke's Theology will immediately join the ranks as the standard by which evangelicals will measure all future publications in this field.
(c) Tremper Longman III - Professor of biblical studies and the chair of the religious studies department at Westmount College:
In An Old Testament Theology Bruce Waltke shares his lifetime of devout scholarly study of the Bible. He is a master interpreter, and all of us - scholars, clergy, and laypeople - benefit greatly from his tremendous insights into the text. This book is a must for all who study the Old Testament.
In An Old Testament Theology Bruce Waltke shares his lifetime of devout scholarly study of the Bible. He is a master interpreter, and all of us - scholars, clergy, and laypeople - benefit greatly from his tremendous insights into the text. This book is a must for all who study the Old Testament.
4. This book was published in 2007 by Zondervan and won the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) Christian Book Award in 2008 for Bible Reference & Study.
The back cover also has this biographical detail for the author:
BRUCE K. WALTKE (ThD, Dallas Theological Seminary; PhD, Harvard University), acknowledged to be one of the outstanding contemporary Old Testament scholars, is professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida, and professor emeritus of biblical studies at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has authored and coauthored numerous books, commentaries, and articles and has contributed to various dictionaries and encyclopedias.
5. Professor Waltke has since resigned from the Orlando campus of Reformed Theological Seminary in 2010 over comments he made on theistic evolution.
He currently teaches at Knox Theological Seminary in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
6. I intend to post some reading notes on this book in the near future.
End.
