The best-krown and most widely read of all the histories of Israel, the one written by John Bright, is now more than twenty-five years old. and although it has been revised twice, it is beginning to show its age. It has been followed by other successful histories of Israel by continental authors - Herrmann, Jagersma and Soggin - but not so far by a new one written originally inEnglish.That situation is now dramatically changed by the appearance of this newwork, by authors whose names will be familiar to all students of the Old Testament. Replete with maps, illustrations and selections from Near Eastern texts, it adopts an approach which many teachers will find far more helpful than the available alternatives. Without putting credulous trust in the biblical text or dismissing almost all of it and resorting to hypcithetical reconstructions, Professors Miller arid Hayes first look at what the Old Testament text says, since it is all we have; then they point out problems raised by a reading of the text; and finally, arrive at a cautious reconstruction which does iustice to what evidence we have, while often conceding that answers are no more than guesses.The period covered extends to the time of Persian rule over the Near East.There are extensive bibliographies and indexes. It is hard to see this work being superseded before the twenty-first century.