Are you about to finish writing a book? Are you an editor, agent, publisher, or even rookie lawyer in publishing? If so, or even if you are considering publishing something- anything, really- than this book is an essential tool/workbook in navigating the potentially dangerous/potentially treasure-filled waters of the printed word industry. Do not sign any book contract- no matter how good it 'sounds'- without first reading this book. Do not quote another source in your material without understanding the possible copyright consequences as explained in this book. Do not sign on with an agent or collaborator without first studying this book. I have seen too many musicians get screwed in boilerplate recording contracts and now that I have moved into writing I am very thankful that I have found and read this book- as I do not want to be the next victim of the 'small print' of a powerful publisher or by a indemnity lawsuit due to any negligence on my part.

What Kirsch does in this publication is go through a book contract step-by-step, clause-by-clause, he 'reads between the lines' for us, he dissects the main deal points in a negotiation and summarizes the critical areas to pay attention to; he hems out publishing law as it applies to writing your book, selling your story to a publisher, and reaping your rewards without incurring a hefty lawsuit. This book is very-well formatted in a visual sense, is user-friendly, even for the publishing law novice, yet it teaches its concepts at a fairly advanced level. What more could you want?

Read this before you sign your first book contract. I'm glad I did. I made this material my crash course and it paid off. - DaveDavidson.com - author

Not only has this book saved me much time and money in research and legal fees, but the author makes the information accessible by offering myriad examples to back up his sage advice. I keep three books on my desk: the dictionary, the Chicago Manual of Style, and Kirsch's Handbook of Publishing Law. A classic.

This is a useful book for any author who wants to understand the many important issues and details in a publishing contract. As a literary agent I want my clients to be as knowledgable as possible in all aspects of their careers. For those that are interested in understanding every contract clause and detail, I recommend Kirsch's book wholeheartedly.

Please understand, though, that this is an incredibly detailed, expert look at every clause in a publishing contract, which an agent negotiates on an author's behalf. If the nuances of legal language aren't of interest and you would rather just get an overview of key contract issues, I'd recommend Michael Larsen's "Literary Agents: What They Do, How They Do It, and How to Find and Work with the Right One for You" instead, or one of the other books on the business of publishing.

The best way I can think of to describe the value of Kirsch's Guide to the Book Contract is to quote from my own book Successful Nonfiction.

"The contract you receive from your publisher may be in two colors and printed on fancy paper but it is not chiseled in stone. Only new authors sign and return a publisher's first offer. You may make changes to the contract and return it-that is a "counter offer". The contract may go back and forth until someone "accepts it."

"I took a distressing telephone call from an author who had just received a contract from a large New York publisher. There were a total of 21 items in the contract she didn't like or didn't understand. After discussing some of them, I suggested she call her editor and have a discussion. Better communication was certainly required here.

She called back two days later, both astonished and delighted. When she asked about the first paragraph in question, the editor said, "that's okay; you can have it." She got what she wanted on the next paragraph in question too. On one other paragraph that concerned her, the editor said something like, "Well, that sounds like this but in the book trade it really means that; so it isn't a big issue."

The result: she got 19 out of the 21 things she asked for. So contract discussions do not mean pulling the wool over the eyes of your publisher. This was a win-win negotiation.

"Take the contract to a book attorney (not just any attorney, not a contract attorney and not a media attorney). When it comes to literary properties and money, you need professional help. And make a counter offer." Kirsch's book will help you understand the publisher's contract.

Jonathan Kirsch is a well-known book critic and book attorney in Los Angeles.

As the author of 113 books (including revisions and foreign-language editions) and over 500 magazine articles, I highly recommend this book to writers and publishers everywhere. DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com.

This book puts the understanding of the complex legalities of book contracts right at your fingertips in wonderful, easy-to-read language. Additionally, it gives excellent advice on "deal points" for all parties involved--author, publisher, and agent. All would-be authors should familiarize themselves with the information in this book.

This mishmash of history and biblical scholarship attempts to counter current prevalent stereotypes of Jews and assumptions about Judaism. In the face of the dogged stereotype of the "pious and prayerful" Jew, Kirsch (King David, 2000, etc.) contends that there never has been a single "correct" Jewish faith, practice, or race. Although he frames the whole argument using the example of Sarah, a woman who dared to laugh at a vengeful God, the enormity of the topic keeps overflowing this frame, and the chapters jerk along from topic to topic and century to century with either too much or too little explication. Kirsch's enthusiasm never flags. From the discovery of abundant ancient fertility figurines ("teraphim") in sites all over Israel, Kirsch extrapolates the existence of a people who were "bold, curious, and daring." When it comes to toughness, too, the Jews got there first; according to Kirsch, the Sicarii, Jewish assassins who operated during the Roman rule of Judea, "literally invented the art of political terrorism." More frustrating than this boosterism is the fact that Kirsch's "untold history" has in fact been told countless times and will be familiar to anyone with a passing interest in Jewish culture. Some of the author's revelations include the fact that the Bible had many authors over a long period of time; that those authors may have included one or more women; that some of the patriarchs married non-Jews; and that false messiahs appearing through the ages have often enjoyed great success. Kirsch's breathless tone as he whips aside curtain after curtain to reveal the obvious is grating, and the labor needed to follow his logic exhausting. Good for entirely ignorant souls seeking a shallow survey of piquant Jewish historical moments and characters. Serious readers should look elsewhere.

I enjoy reading Jonathan Kirsch. Previously, I have read his book on Moses and The Harlot by the Side of the Road. I find his books to be intriguing, informative and entertaining. Very few books on religious subjects can be described by all three of these terms. But Kirsch has a non-pretentious style that draws the reader in and makes it easier to consider some of the astounding things he brings out.

Without beating you over the head with it, Kirsch is clearly writing from a Jewish perspective. As a Christian, I find Kirsch's books great background for what is the basis of Christian theology. In this book, he takes for his theme the changing shape of Judaism over the millennia. He points out how many sects of modern Judaism try to enforce a traditional religion based on the ancient practices of the Jewish people, forgetting that one of the hallmarks of the Jewish faith is how it has been able to adapt over the years and ensure the survival of both faith and people. All religions could take to heart the idea developed in this book; namely that, despite what hard-liners want to believe, religious practice evolves through time in any religion. Jews and Christians alike should search harder for what is right as opposed to falling back on what we've always done because it's what we've always done.

Kirsch offers many wonderful stories and descriptions in this book but one of my favorites is the one that is referenced in the title of the book. What happened to the days when human beings weren't afraid to question God and God wasn't offended to be questioned? Sarah laughs at God's promise of a son, Abraham debates with God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and Moses doubts and questions the burning bush. And these are just a few examples of challenges from people beloved by God. But these days the thought of questioning religious leaders, let alone God himself, are beyond the pale. Has this weakened us spiritually? I don't know the answer but it's one of the many questions inspired by this book.

Over time, I have come to the conclusion that books on religion are the best to read and the hardest to review. The reviewer is almost certainly to offend someone who holds passionate beliefs contrary to the author and/or the review. There is no way around this and I am sorry for it because I have no wish to offend anyone. Yet, as a person who doesn't have all the answers but considers himself to be in a state of constant exploration for the Truth, I enjoy reading nearly anything on philosophy and theology. I think any religious explorer with an open mind would enjoy this book.

I found this book to cover exactly what it promised- the fact that judaism has evolved through tradition and counter-tradition, that rabbinical judaism is one of many "judaisms" and that this process has been occurring since biblical times. I have read the author's other books on biblical topics and enjoyed them. But this book surpassed them for me. The last three chapters were very rich- thought-provoking and informative. If you are on a quest to know more, at the same time that you are questioning much, about Judaism, you will get a lot out of this book.

A true Bible scholar embraces the dark side as well as the good, and Kirsch dishes up the murkier details of the evil deeds people have done to one another throughout the ages. While fundamentalists often object to hearing anything less than squeaky clean coming from the Good Book, the Bible stories themselves are cautionary tales. The Bible is like an instruction manual for life, and all good manuals contain sections on troubleshooting. The Harlot By the Side of the Road has a few flaws, such as the author tends to hammer the same ideas over and over, but it is still an interesting read. I was particularly interested in the differences between the King James version and the New American Bible, and how we have lost the poetry in the new translations. It's as if we are "dumbing down" the Bible to make it more accesible, and at the same time glossing over some of the juicier tales. I feel that Kirsch's book should be placed on the shelf along side other Bible study books such as the History of God, and of course, the Holy Bible.

Jonathan Kirsch hits the nail right on the head when he speaks of the general populaces ignorance of what is actually in the Bible. Most people have some kind of fairy tale idea that the Bible is full of wonderful, pretty stories that always conclude with a happy ending. God is always just and fair, and his messages are easy to understand. People that have this opinion, and I know a lot of them, have no idea what they are missing. As the famous line from Kerouac reads, "that Bi-ble has some hot stuff". Man, does it ever.

Instead of magical fairy tales, the Bible is one of the most brutal and violent books you are ever going to read. It's full of genocide, divinely inspired murder and human sacrifice, and some really complex sexual situations. To deny this is really to deny the true Bible, which is an amazing work of literature. That is not to say that these examples of extreme actions are without meaning; that is far from the case. Unlike modern literature which often uses murder and sex for no reason other than better book sales, the Bible delivers some deep moral pronouncements concerning a whole array of human situations. Using the horrible consequences of certain human action, the Bible can teach us a lot of harsh but important lessons.

Kirsch delivers this message brilliantly. Using a very interesting way of getting his point across, Kirsch writes some good little novellas of the various Bible stories he proposes, helping the lay reader get a clearer grasp on what actually happens in the story. These fictionalizations are bolstered by the requisite Bible passages. After the novellas, Kirsch presents some great commentary on the various stories, bring in all kinds of varying opinions and interpretations. It really is fascinating, as some of the stories are so complex and unclear that no one in the centuries of Bible study can get a clear grasp on their true meaning. We are left with a whole host of intriguing but disparate interpretations that make for some good reading nonetheless.

Kirsch does not go the route of cheapening the stories either. I was worried that this book would be some kind of sensational attempt to sell some books by showing that the Bible was really dirty and violent. That is not true at all. Kirsch does not dwell on the wild aspects of the story, he just means to explain what they mean to us today. Additional chapters deliver some good historical backgrounds concerning who actually wrote the Biblical stories, and the motivation behind many of the.

A great example of modern Biblical analysis.

Kirsch is a wonderful writer and a talented scholar, two elements that make this a breezy read about a weighty topic. Skeptics and believers alike can take away important lessons from this book. First, the Hebrew Bible is filled with bodice-ripping, blood-and-thunder stories, the likes of which even Hollywood seldom delivers. Second, the Hebrew tribal god was no choir boy. This might blast your faith in the "loving God" preached from many pulpits, but in a lot of ways, it's a richer mythology than the sacharine, milquetoast version of deity. Through seven shocking tales of rape, incest, and murder in the Hebrew Bible, Kirchner explores such topics as oral traditions, biblical criticism, history and culture, feminism, and spirtuality. Although written from a Jewish perspective, Kirsch is mindful of Islamic and, especially, Christian readers who also consider the Hebrew Bible as scripture. I highly recommend this book, and look forward to reading Kirsch's newer book on Moses.

...too bad he is not a more passionate writer. He seems to miss so many crucial elements in the life of Moses. Yes, there is much missing about this great man known and loved by millions, but Kirsch seems to exult in the petty. He writes as an uninvolved observer of this extraordinary man. There is no love, no passion, no sense of deep respect for Moses in this text. I kept waiting for the page that would reveal some astonishing, delightful insight into this spiritual giant but I read in vain.
Kirsch chooses wonderful subjects but leaves the reader with less information and more questions than when they first picked up the book. More insightful and intiguing studies have been done on the life of Moses. I suggest looking elsewhere for inspiration, no offense to Kirsch.

There are a number of very good reasons to buy this. But hoping to find a life of Moses is not one of them.

Kirch is very good on the sources who wrote the Bible, and his knowledge of Midrash is astounding.

But he is weakest on the very thing the book advertises - the life of Moses. The story of Moses - unwilling prophet wandering through the desert with a group of thankless former slaves and a God who doesn't know whether to embrace him or kill him - is one of the most moving in all of literature.

Yes, literature. I'm no fundamentalist.

Yet rather than dealing with the text and exploring the relationship between Moses and the Israelites or Moses and God (which for me rivals the relationship between Hamlet and himself), he tears the text apart, searching more often not for who Moses was but for who wrote the Bible.

Much of what he writes is interesting and provocative, though sometimes condescending. But it does not provide a life of Moses.

this book was brilliant. if you take a look at what biblical biographies are available in the world, you would realize how good this one is. kirsh gives an engaging analysis into both the religious and historical evidence of not just moses, but the events surrounding his life as well. this includes the egyptian lifestyle, and the history of the early mediterranean.

i went to catholic school, and i never read the bible until after this book!

It is very evident that the motive of the author was to debunk the Old Testamentin general, and the biblical David in particular. In doing so, he appears to reference all his material with notated references to the index. Howefver, if you examine these references, many are stated as factual material. In reality, they were previously written by another individual,
and their validity is highly suspect. He uses other versions of the Bible to support his position, and roughly 150 books which he eviscerated passages to support his positions. A fairytale!

Kirsch gives us a detailed account of one of the most famous men in history, complete with the good, the bad, the ugly, and the very ugly. The real David is not for Sunday school students. One wonders why he was known as "a man after God's own heart." Kirsch also makes a good point by suggesting that there is almost no extra-biblical evidence for the existence of David or a united monarchy in Jerusalem. Yet the detail and honesty of which multiple books of the Bible speak of David is enough to convince most historians that he existed. However, do not tell your children about him until they are old enough to see an R-rated movie.

Jonathan Kirsch is my favorite type of theological writer. He's not afraid to ask the tough questions about the cornerstones of faith and he's open to a wide variety of possibilities both traditional and liberal. He has a deft hand and obvious faith but his writing lacks the undercurrents (and, often, overtones) of other writers who ram particular points of view down a reader's throat. He is the kind of writer who gets the wheels in your head turning.

This time out Kirsch looks at the biblical figure of King David. He examines what we know of a man who is in many ways the key figure of the Bible. For those of us focused mainly on the New Testament, we need to be reminded that David was the pinnacle of Jewish success and the cornerstone of Messianic thought. It is no coincidence that Matthew and Luke are careful to trace the genealogy of Jesus through David. And Kirsch makes a very interesting case that it is possible that the books that carry the story of David (1 & 2 Samuel) may be among the oldest in the Bible around which even much of the Torah may have had its development.

Certainly, Kirsch reminds us of how very human David is. He is a virile youth and a successful warrior both for and against his countrymen. He is an anointed shepherd who takes years to secure a kingdom which he eventually must defend against his own sons. He is a servant of Yahweh who breaks nearly all the commandments at one time or another but repents. He is a believer but is steeped in pagan ritual and tradition who ultimately is not allowed to build a temple to his God. In the oldest stories, David gives us a glimpse of a people and religion that is trying to make itself into the Judaism we recognize but is still finding its way despite Abraham and Moses.

Ultimately, Kirsch leads us to an understanding of David and his time by fleshing out details and offering explanations for things that get short shrift in the Biblical text. Whether or not you accept all of Kirsch's possibilities, this book is a valuable resource for anyone who wants a clearer picture of the Old Testament world.