In his introduction to Jewish apocalyptic literature, Collins examines the main characteristics and discusses the setting and intention of apocalyptic literature. He begins his discussion of Daniel with a survey of the book's anomalies and an examination of the bearing of form criticism on those anomalies. He explores the book's place in the canon and the problems with its coherence and bilingualism. Collins provides a section-by-section commentary with a structural analysis (verse-by-verse) of each section.