OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Broken Gift: Harmonizing the Biblical and scientific accounts of human origins" by Daniel Friedmann.]

In the non-fiction book, The Broken Gift: Harmonizing the Biblical and Scientific Accounts of Human Origins, Daniel Friedmann attempts to reconcile science and religion with regards to the appearance of humans and their early history. Friedmann analyzes the biblical story of Genesis, providing references to a number of prominent religious scholars and connects parts of the story with associated scientific research into evolution and the fossil record.

In the introduction, Friedmann is clear about personal biases that are reflected in his work, namely his Jewish faith and familiarity with The Torah and his training as a physicist. These biases are reflected throughout the book in the sources used as well as the scientific concepts referenced to connect the dots between the Biblical and the scientific.

Friedmann is clearly passionate about his subject and has thoroughly researched both the science and religion in preparation for writing the book. I appreciated several instances where he brought up a point that I had never thought about.

Unfortunately, I had a number of issues with the book. The intended audience for The Broken Gift is unclear. The initial chapters contain very basic explanations of scientific and religious concepts to cater to both the non-scientific and the non-religious. Unfortunately, I felt that the basic scientific concepts introduced in the early chapters did not tie in with arguments made to connect the science and the religion in later chapters. Once the reader reaches the chapters where Friedmann begins to lay out his arguments, high level physics concepts are referenced that would not be familiar to readers without a background in science. By eliminating the early material that does not provide a building block for the later chapters, the book could have been shortened significantly. Because of those early chapters, I felt that I was halfway through the book before I found where Friedmann began presenting his arguments.

Another issue was the frequency with which chapters would touch on a concept only to state that it would be covered in later chapters. Those references are unnecessary if the division of material was more streamlined to where one chapter flows into the next in a logical fashion.

A final issue was the information buried within the cited references at the end of each chapter that explained some of the points being made within the chapter. In many cases, that information made the points much clearer and should have been included within the main body of the chapter.

I would give The Broken Gift a 2 out of 4 because while the arguments presented were thought provoking, I don't think the book as it is currently written will appeal to a wide range of people. I think the book is best suited to those with an interest in Christian religious scholarship.

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The Broken Gift: Harmonizing the Biblical and scientific accounts of human origins
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Book of the Day!

This seems like it would be an interesting read. Being somewhat religious myself, I tend to steer away from books that try to convince me otherwise. Although, I cannot imagine how much research the author in order to write his book! Too bad it wasn't your cup of tea, I'm not sure if it's mine either. However, the author made it as BOTD, so congratulations to him on that!

Sounds like an insightful read for fans of the genre. It is good that the author is clear about personal biases from the start.

Congratulations to the author for making it a Book of the Day and thank you for the discount!

In all honesty, despite the 2/4 stars, I still find the book very intriguing. I'm curious about what kind of arguments that will be presented and how Friedmann's interpretation of the Bible corresponds with today's science. Great review though!

Excellent review. I just picked it up as BOTD, since I am interested in ancient (pre?)history. There are a LOT of theories out there, and no one theory that I've seen is able to reconcile all the facts, not to mention the huge holes in our knowledge. So it is always good to read yet another perspective.

I appreciate that you critiqued the book only for the flaws in the presentation of its arguments, not for its biases or conclusions. Sounds like it ought to have gone through some more drafts, maybe with alpha and beta tests with readers, before publishing. That's too bad. I look forward to reading it, though.

Once again, thanks for your analysis.

The book sounds like an ambitious endeavor and written for a more scholarly audience. I always enjoy reading about an instance of historic proof and religions text. The passion and thorough research is wonderful to see in such a divisive topic.

Would you say this book leans more towards the religious argument for human origin, such as creationism, or the scientific one? Though I suppose it may be best to go in with an open mind and read an opposition to what your own beliefs may be instead of only ever reading what adheres to what you already believe in.

gaporter wrote:Would you say this book leans more towards the religious argument for human origin, such as creationism, or the scientific one? Though I suppose it may be best to go in with an open mind and read an opposition to what your own beliefs may be instead of only ever reading what adheres to what you already believe in.

Excellent review

Vermont Reviews

It sounds like quite the interesting book that could be right up my alley! Nice job on the review too.

enjoyed this review, thank you

Insightful review. I enjoy reading books such as this one. But you made good points, indeed with how you reviewed this book. It made it more intriguing to delve deeper into the book. Thank you for that. Congratulations to the author for Book of the Day!

I do t usually read books like this but after reading the review I think I might buy it. I have always wondered about Religion and the scientific aspect of it

I honestly don't read books like this and this review, while very well written, just establishes me more in the arena of that I will probably not read this book. I'm not into religious books and I definitely tend to lean away from books that try to compare religion and science and say that one is similar to the other or try to justify how things came to be. Well written review but book isn't one I see myself reading in the future.

Great review. Not really into this kind of books, but I'll still read it!