Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

Every time I post a review for a non-fiction book, I always remind ya'll how I don't read non-fiction because non-fiction books rarely keep my attention long enough for me to finish them.  Every once in a while I find a non-fiction book that keeps my attention and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan is one of those books.  It is also a book that I learned a lot from--so it has at least those two things going for it: it kept my attention both writing and content wise AND I learned a lot.  That's always a good thing.

Zealot is an examination and analysis of the historical Jesus through the lens of his Jewish identity and within the context of the culture, politics and geography of his time period.  This is an insightful, interesting, spellbinding, fascinating read.  A scholar of religions, Aslan relies on his own translations of the original Greek and Hebrew of Biblical passages to illuminate the texts in his examination of the contemporary culture, geography, and politics as it would have been understood by those actually living it.

I highly recommend you check out this book the next time you visit the library.

--Reviewed by Ms. Angie