1 & 2 Samuel.

1 & 2 Samuel. By Tony W. Cartledge (Smyth & Helwys, $65). The commentary series of which this is a part is an attempt to bridge the gap between technical biblical scholarship and everyday Bible readers. The commentary uses a combination of art, photographs, maps, and drawings to illustrate the truths of the Bible for a visual generation of believers. C. brings twenty-six years of parish experience to the task. A typical chapter has interpretive text, several sidebars in brown, hyperlinks to other information, and "connections," which applies the text to contemporary life. The sidebars are actually of two types--text and illustrations--and the whole massive commentary (748 pages), including the sidebars, is also contained in a CD, which is tucked inside the back cover. My only quibble is with the quality of the pictures and the art--too many mediocre photos and too much Dore for my taste, when the David narratives have been painted by the best of Western artists. Sadly, too, all graphic images are only black and white, also on the CD. I suppose copyright is partly to blame (but what about pictures and maps?), but it seems a shame when technology makes it possible to reproduce graphics cheaply in living color to have to settle for anything less.