About us > Past productions > 2011/12 > How to Write a New Book for the Bible
additional resources
Learn more about the themes found in How to Write a New Book for the Bible, including caregiving, the Bible and the Vietnam War, in this resource guide compiled by our literary department.
caring for the elderly
Many of us will find ourselves caring for an elderly relative or friend at some point in our lives. It can be challenging and emotionally taxing to deal with the health-care system as well as with the declining health of someone we love.
This page on the New York Times website provides dozens of links to useful information about government benefits, navigating the health-care system and finding emotional support. It also lists useful blogs and magazines.
A brief piece written by John Shore entitled “15 Ways to Stay Sane While Caring For an Elderly Parent.”
the bible
Though many of us are familiar with the Creation story in the Book of Genesis or the life of Jesus and the apostles in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the New Testament, the Bible is a vast and fascinating text. It differs wildly between translations and editions (did you know that the word “tyranny” is nowhere to be found in the King James Bible?), and contains accounts of battles, archaic social customs, love poetry and a positively psychedelic account of the apocalypse in the book of Revelation.
American family bibles
Though now less common than they once were, a family bible was a staple in most Christian homes in America. A family bible was not just a place to read the Scriptures. It was also a place to maintain family records, and, in the case of fancier editions, a beautiful work of art meant to be enjoyed. The sources below offer more information about the fascinating production history of the world’s most widely read text.
Material Christianity: religion and popular culture in America by Colleen McDannell
Historical Catalogue of the Printed Editions of the English Bible, 1535–1961. Revised and expanded by A.S. Herbert
The English Bible in America by Margaret T. Hills
An American Bible by Paul C. Gutjahr
The Book: a history of the Bible by Christopher De Hamel
vietnam war
Electronic
This site developed by PBS for their series Battlefield: Vietnam offers a concise background into the history and politics of the Vietnam War. It also provides links to other sites and photographs.
Film
Battlefield: Vietnam (DVD)
- A long-running PBS series that provides an in-depth contextual look at major battles in World War II and the Vietnam War.
Hollywood has offered its own take on the war in films like Full Metal Jacket (DVD), Apocalypse Now (DVD) and Platoon (DVD).
We Were Soldiers Once…and Young by Lt. General Harold G. Moore and Joseph L. Galloway
- Part historical account and part first-person reporting, this book takes an in-depth look at the first major ground battle in the Vietnam War. Many have called it the best book about the conflict.
The Long Gray Line: The American Journey of West Point’s Class of 1966 by Rick Atkinson
- A Pulitzer-prize winning book that uses the journey of West Point’s class of 1966 as a lens to examine America’s changing attitudes towards war and the military.
