James Goodman is a professor at Rutgers University, where he teaches history and creative writing. He is the author of two previous books, including Stories of Scottsboro, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in New York.
“This book makes you feel like a guest at a truly eclectic
symposium on the meaning of the biblical story of the Binding of
Isaac, featuring Jews, Muslims, and Christians; medieval and
moderns; artists and novelists. It is amazing to see how 19
sentences of the biblical account have given birth to so many
different interpretations, and one leaves this book with the sense
that the discussion is not nearly over yet.” —Jewish Voice, A
Selection of the Year’s Best Jewish Books
“Obviously fascinated by the story, Goodman demonstrates great
prudence in not offering his explanation but in asserting that the
story has many meanings. This refreshing restraint along with the
author’s writing skills make his contribution an important addition
to the libraries of commentaries about Abraham and Isaac that
vainly strive to explain what is ultimately unfathomable.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A fresh and exciting take on the different ways in which the
Binding of Isaac has been understood down through the centuries,
and also covers how we should understand it today. He writes as one
who is both a son and a father, both a Jew and a person in search
of meaning, and, above all, as a storyteller who is fascinated by
this ancient tale, and who lets his imagination run free over what
it meant and what it means….It is enough to say that this book is a
must-read.” —Rabbi Jack Riemer, Jewish News Service
“Interesting. . . . A fast-moving account of a wide-ranging and
deeply penetrating religious topic, and Goodman closes with an
important reminder on how the subject of sacrifice for religious
obedience is relevant to the contemporary issue of religious
extremism. A well-researched and stirring account of how various
communities, scholars and artists interpret the willingness to
sacrifice life for God.” —Kirkus
“But where is the lamb? is a fascinating study that uses a single
biblical tale as a lock-pick to turn all sorts of tumblers in the
human mind and heart. I found it to be a quick read, which would be
surprising except that a few years ago I read Goodman’s Scottsboro
Stories and was thoroughly impressed with the elegant fluidity and
crisp lucidity of his style as well as his gift for distilling
mountains of historical documents into a few pages of cogent
exposition.” —Vince Cyyz, ArtFuse
“Who knew that nineteen lines of Scripture could reverberate
through the centuries with so many interpretations? James
Goodman has written a fascinating book offering worlds of opinion
on one of the toughest stories in the Bible—and best of all, he
pulls no punches in offering his own conflicting
opinions. Thoughtful, readable, historical and current.” —Rick
Hamlin, author of 10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without
“Genesis 22 rivets: a terrible story of authority, faith, and
reason. Moving effortlessly from Biblical time to our own, James
Goodman offers an intense yet sparkling chronicle of intellectual,
artistic, theological, and spiritual struggle.” —Sean Wilentz,
Professor of History at Princeton University, author of The Rise of
American Democracy and Bob Dylan in America
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