The Tomb of Christ

Contemporary Review, Nov, 1999

Martin Biddle. Sutton Publishing. [pounds]25.00/US$39.95. 172 pages. ISBN 0-7509-1926-4. This beautifully illustrated book, written by the Professor of Mediaeval Archaeology in Oxford, will fascinate Christians round the world and anyone interested in history as seen through buildings. The book is based on work done in 1986 when the author and his wife were asked to examine the tomb before urgently needed restoration work began. The building which houses the tomb of Christ, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, has been built, destroyed and rebuilt several times: in many ways it is a microcosm of the history of Europe and her relations with the Middle East. Using his archaeological knowledge and the records of pilgrims and visitors throughout history, Professor Biddle gives us a first-rate history of a unique building which remains at the heart of our civilisation.

Thames and Hudson have launched a new paperback series call 'Prospects for Tomorrow' under the general editorship of Yorick Blumenfeld. The series, which will eventually include some twenty titles, is designed to 'help us think more clearly and less fearfully about the future that we want for ourselves.' Topics to be discussed will include: ending poverty, fair shares in global resources, information technology, the environment, violence, nutrition, education, leisure, cities and the arts. The series begins with three titles, the first of which is Yorick Blumenfeld's Scanning the Future: Twenty Eminent Thinkers on the World of Tomorrow ([pounds]7.95. 304 pages. ISBN 0-500-28045-2) which introduces selections from twenty writers and thinkers on mankind's future. The second title is Timothy Gorringe's Fair Shares: Ethics and the Global Economy ([pounds]6.95.111 pages. ISBN 0-500-28115-7) in which a theologian examines the future relationship between what is right and what is profitable. The third title is Robin Marris's Ending Poverty ([pounds]6.95. 120 pages. ISBN 0-500-28114-9) in which an economics professor examines how poverty may be reduced in the new century. The individual volumes are well presented and will offer challenging reading.