Books

Books : reviews

Magnus Magnusson.
BC : the Archaeology of the Bible Lands.
Bodley Head / BBC. 1977

In BC The Archaeology of the Bible Lands Magnus Magnusson describes in fascinating detail the latest archaeological discoveries in the Near East that illustrate the development of civilisation and culture in the area and that add a new understanding to the unique religious, literary and historical document known to us as the Old Testament.

Based on excavations in Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, it lends new significance to some of the most famous Bible stories that have become part of our western heritage: Joshua and the Battle of Jericho; Israel’s bondage in Egypt; Samson; Solomon and the Queen of Sheba; Ahab and Jezebel; and many others.

In recent years Magnus Magnusson has done much through his work on television and radio to bring the exciting revelations provided by archaeology today before the general public. This book is based on the major BBC series which he scripted and presented.

Magnus Magnusson.
Iceland Saga.
Bodley Head / BBC. 1987

Iceland Saga is the story of a remarkable country, and the remarkable literature it produced in medieval times: the Icelandic sagas. The sagas were enacted and written against the backdrop of the most spectacular scenery in Europe. In Iceland Saga, Magnus Magnusson relates the stories of the past to the living landscapes of today; he takes the reader on a literary saga tour of the places where the sagas were born, the mountains and valleys and fjords where the heroes and heroines of the sagas lived out their eventful lives.