All About Abraham
by John F. Baker -- Publishers Weekly, 5/21/2001
Someone else who has never had a full-scale biography is the legendary biblical father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the prophet Abraham. That is about to be corrected by poet, scholar and translator David Rosenberg, whose Book of J, cowritten with Harold Bloom, caused a stir a few years back. With the aid of his own translations of biblical material and other sources, he is writing as detailed a biography of the man and his political and religious context as can be managed. He will examine Abraham's life as a Sumerian, as well as the origins of monotheism. Agent Howard Morhaim conducted an auction for the project that lasted nearly a week, with no fewer than 10 publishers registering bids into six figures, before Viking senior editor Wendy Wolf clinched a world-rights deal with an offer in the high six.
