A review by nothingforpomegranted
Abraham: A Journey to the Heart of Three Faiths by Bruce Feiler

3.0

The premise of this book, I thought, was great. The execution, on the other hand, left quite a bit to be desired. I was excited to learn more about Abraham as a potentially historical figure, and instead, I got the story of Bruce Feiler learning a little bit about different understandings of the metaphor of Abraham across cultures and history. This concept is also interesting, but not quite what I was hoping for and, in any case, underdone. For that sort of cultural analysis, I would have much preferred a more objective narration (or at least more detail). That said, I definitely learned quite a bit about the transformation of Abraham and how he serves as a sort of cultural touchstone and template for different values in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and I appreciated those new-to-me insights.