The first edition of Professor Soggin's History of l welcomed by reviewers: 'brisk, easy to read and ng a certain freshness and freedom about it, lacking in more rigid presentations', 'no serious student will want to be without it'. Indeed Theology paid it the ultimate compliment: "The publishers' blurb does not exaggerate: "There is always room for a good new study, and this is one of the very best.""

However, that was ten years ago, and much has happened in the field since then. As a result, the author has taken the opportunity to rewrite his work completely: indeed, so up-to-date is it that this new edition will appear in English before it is published in the original Italian. There are changes on every page, and even the title has been altered. It reflects the author's recognition that the sources are 'essentially religious and apologetic, offering an idealized and partial account of events. So the term "introduction" indicates that the reader is often introduced to the various problems, with no attempt at a reconstruction of events where such a reconstruction seems impossible.

Here, then, is a work with all the strengths of its predecessor and yet more to offer: a concern for all aspects of the history of Israel and Judah, political and economic factors, religious and theological interpretation, methodology, geography and topography. And one which will remain standard reading for the rest of the decade.